City of Aurora to hold tennis center naming ceremony in honor of Woodie Smith

On Sunday, the City of Aurora will hold a naming center in honor of former Overland coach Woodie Smith at the Utah Park Tennis Courts.

The facility will be dedicated as the Woodie M. Smith Tennis Center in a ceremony at 1 p.m.

“Woodie’s impact on OHS, high school sports, and the Colorado tennis community is immeasurable,” said Overland athletic director Karl Buck.

Smith, the longtime tennis coach at Overland, passed away in March after a long battle with cancer. He was 72.

A 1964 graduate of Mullen, Smith was also a football, basketball and track coach, as well as a basketball official. He was on the original staff at Overland when it opened in 1978.

He stayed at Overland for 28 years, and received the Lifetime Trailblazer Hall of Fame Award in 2018. In addition to being a coach and teacher, Smith was also athletic director for eight years. He retired from teaching in 2005, but continued to coach tennis until 2018.

In 2017, Smith received the Distinguished Service Award from CHSAA. He was on the Association’s Board of Directors, then known as the Executive Committee, for eight years, was the CHSAA president from 2004-05.