FAIRFIELD, Ala. – For the first time in school history, Miles College will offer golf as a sponsored sport the school recently announced. The
Golden Bears will begin its inaugural season during the 2013-2014 school year.
“This new golf team is a great opportunity for Miles College to show yet another component of the culture, class and civility that we instill in our students,” says President George T. French. “It is a testament of the standard of excellence that we expect from our students academically and holistically.”
Being charged with the task of building the Golden Bears program is first year head coach Leonard Smoot. A 24-year retired veteran of the United States Marine Corps (USMC), Smoot brings over 20 years of competitive golf experience. He has several top-10 finishes in competitive tournaments throughout Southeast Asia and Europe, including wins at the Wago Championship (Okinawa, Japan)
as well as the Staff & Officer Championship (Awase, Japan). In 2002, Smoot became just the third African-American to make the United States’ Marines Golf Team.
Since 2008, he also has served as a mentor/coach for the Professional Women’s Golf Association while also previously serving in various roles for many regional golf tournaments, including the South Region Minority Supplier Development Council Golf Classic (SRMSDC), the Museum of Urban Art Golf Tournament, the Stillman College Scholarship Golf Tournament, and Alabama Leadership Foundation Golf Classic.
“I’m very excited to be a part of establishing the golf program at Miles College. Adding golf provides a distinguished opportunity for the institution to have a positive impact on the lives of young adults and potentially open doors for them that may not have, otherwise, been available,” says Smoot, who has also been a competitive boxer for over 30 years, including competing as a member of the US
MC boxing team, and serving as a boxing coach.
The Miles College golf team will take part in non-competitive events during the fall semester, beginning with the National Black College Hall of Fame Golf Invitational, September 27th-29th in Atlanta, Ga. The Golden Bears’ season will officially begin in spring 2014.
“The motto for our golf team this season will be P.M.A., which stands for Positive Mental Attitude. What this means is that regardless of the situation, we want our student-athletes to have a positive mental attitude as well as the will to win, whether it’s on the golf course, in the classroom, or just functioning in society,” Smoot stated.
Coach Smoot states that he has already successfully recruited four players, two from Atlanta, Ga. and two from Kimberly, Ala., that are set to enroll as freshmen this fall and will look to add more golfers to the team prior to the start of the upcoming season.
“My goal is to find good kids that want to receive a quality education. We want to develop a successful golf program that can compete for SIAC Championships as well as NCAA Division II Championships,” says Smoot.
For inquiries about the Miles College golf program, contact Head Coach Leonard Smoot by email at lsmoot@miles.edu or by phone at 205-929-1617.
