Santa Monica College has selected Kelly Ledwith to lead the Football program. Ledwith previously served as the part-time Interim Head Coach and was recently elected to a Full Time tenure track position here at SMC. Coach Ledwith answered a few questions recently after accepting the position:
What were your first thoughts after you were offered the Head Coaching position here at SMC?
"I was extremely excited to build upon what we have started. We brought in a great group of student-athletes last year and to be able to see them through to the finish and build for a strong future of Corsair football is exciting."
What would you like the SMC Community to know about you first and foremost?
"That I will be the best ambassador for the College that I can be. I take my role as a recruiter, coach, teacher and mentor that represents Santa Monica College and the community of Santa Monica very seriously. I look forward to creating more unity between our football program and the community on and off campus."
What is your coaching background?
"I have coached at every level of college football. I received my start at Fresno State under Pat Hill, but I have also coached Division 3 football here in Southern California, FCS football in New York City, and Division 2 football in Colorado. For 15 years I have coached and worked on many different college campuses and my favorite experience was coaching at the community college level."
What will be your goals here at SMC…what kind of program are you looking to build here?
"We will build a program that everyone can be proud of. The Corsair Promise is to Be the Best – Never Compromise! I expect our team to uphold our standards and live that promise every day. I want to see our students-athletes be known as leaders who are hardworking and dedicated individuals that do not cut corners."
What type of student athlete are you looking to attract into your program?
"We are looking for student athletes that want to be leaders in their communities. We want football players that not only want to graduate from SMC, but we also want those who want to be a better leader when they leave here than they were when they arrived. If we can build leaders here through our Corsair football program, I know we will be successful."
Any closing thoughts?
"I cannot wait for the 2019 season to get here so that our team can show this great campus and community the work that they have been putting in to make themselves better students and student-athletes. I see them work hard every day and I cannot wait for the Santa Monica community to see the rewards of that work this fall."
"If you are an SMC Football Alumni of our program please reach out to me. We currently have six SMC alumni on our coaching staff, but we need to build stronger ties to our past. It would be great to have former players come back to campus and speak to our team. Last year our players raised $7000 by themselves, that money allowed us to enhance their experience and I am always looking for more ways we can make this experience for our young men as great as it was for you when you played here."
If you are an Alum please click here: https://www.frontrush.com/FR_Web_App/Player/PlayerSubmit.aspx?sid=MTUwNTM=-8Tp8sqX9baU=&ptype=alumni