Kirby Smart reveals his memories about preseason camp, participating in two-a-days

Georgia coach Kirby Smart was once cornerback Kirby Smart. Today, he looks back on his playing days in Athens fondly. Recently, Smart looked back at memories that he has of preseason camp, two-a-days, and other offseason practices.

“I talked to the team last night about my memories of training camp because everybody has to get in training camp mode,” Kirby Smart said. “And, I always said I’d never be the coach that talked about how hard you had it, and you had to walk four miles up the hill in the snow. And we had it tougher than them, and they had it made and we had to go and grind and do all this.”

As Kirby Smart points out, older generations have a tendency to talk about how much more difficult things used to be. He may not want to go down that path consistently, as he tries to connect with student-athletes today, but he did go on to note changes in how things are done.

“It’s very evident when you see the old schedules, and the format of two practices a day, full pads, picture day in the middle. I mean, these guys are never gonna have two practices in the same day. And, required off time is different. So, the demands were certainly more.”

Kirby Smart knows the game is changing

Part of why the offseason schedule is changing so much for Kirby Smart and coaches like him is that the game as a whole is going through massive changes. Safety regulations have changed how football is practiced. The transfer portal, NIL, and other movements for athletes’ rights are changing the relationship between player and coach.

Kirby Smart knows this. He has also proven that he knows how to address these changes going forward.

“The coaches will get by,” Kirby Smart said. “The coaches will be fine. Coaches make a decision when you get into this. You know, when you get into this, you have the choice. You’ve probably thought about coaching. You know what, I’m going to go over there and talk about it. I’m not going to be the one on the field doing it. But I love what I do, and I think all coaches love that. But it is very stressful in terms of the time commitment. It’s not about the winning and losing, it’s about the time commitment you take away from your family to go recruit. But you make that choice when you sign up for the job.”