‘Go put a hole in the floor’

If you make your way to a Ruston High volleyball match, you’re bound to see visceral reactions to Jade Smith’s play.

Whether it’s a teammate or coach yelling,”Get up Jade,” for a towering kill or a bellowing celebration after a big-time block, Smith evokes an emotional response with her 5-11 stature and smile that can light up a gym.

As a multi-year starter for one of the top high school programs in north Louisiana and the reining District 2-1A Offensive Player of the Year, Smith has appeared to have gotten better with time and experience, forming into an all-around weapon for the Bearcats as she enters the second half of her final season.

“I see a lot of natural ability and straight athleticism matched with a commitment to getting better,” Ruston volleyball coach Amanda Cauley said of Smith. “And her family has taken on the extra commitment of driving to Texas to be coached by different people and play with different people. She’s been dedicated to the process, and I think the sky’s the limit for her for what she’s capable of doing and I think Jade’s in the driver’s seat.”

But it’s not just highlight plays that elicit a response from her coaches and teammates. It’s everything in between that has left a mark on the young Bearcats behind her, a reality Smith didn’t truly understand until recently.

Now, even with college in the near future and a potential postseason run for her and the Bearcats on the way, Smith would rather take a back seat when it comes to openly complimenting her game. It’s not that she denies her raw talent and ability to find a groove hard for most teams to counter, but that’s not her style to boast.

Smith would rather help the underclassmen behind her and spend her final season as a Bearcat developing relationships and teaching the skills she’s learned to those around her.

That was perhaps one of the biggest lessons for herself to learn and came with a worthwhile reaction of its own.

Smith is a role model for her teammates — a responsibility she didn’t expect at first. But she’s more than embraced it ever since.

“I didn’t realize how much I meant to my teammates until probably entering my junior year,” Smith said. “One moment that opened my eyes even more was the other day and one of the freshmen was like, ‘Jade, you’re my role model.’ I never had anyone tell me that before and that definitely opened my eyes more. Girls look up to me, and it means something. And my mentality is to really just be here for our team and to be encouraging and just push everyone including myself in our second half which is probably going to be one of our hardest and most important since we’re playing teams from down south in a bunch of tournaments.”

Lucie Hunt, who coached Smith from her freshman through junior seasons at RHS, isn’t surprised to hear the big Ruston middle stave off praise as a leader.

Hunt said given the position Smith plays as a ranging force in the middle of the net, it’s always been as simple as wanting to do her job and put her team in position to win.

“There’s a moment for those kind of powerhouse girls on the floor where they play with the mentality of ‘I’m just going to go and go do my job’ and she might not think about impact on others sometimes because she’s thinking of a lot on her plate,” Hunt said. “Sometimes for these girls, you really do have to tell them how good they are and who they impact. They want to be like that one day, especially these taller girls that want to be hitters, and I think she’s setting the tone for a lot of people.”

Growing her game

Being gifted is one thing in sports. Combining those talents with a complete understanding of the game? Look out.

And that’s exactly what Smith has done over the last year as she’s worked to fine tune her game from just see-ball, hit-ball, into a player willing to switch up her attacks and let the defense play into her hands.

Being able to easily touch a 10-foot basketball rim and “jump out of the gym” as Hunt puts it, helps with that that, using her unique hang time to find holes in defenses when a block might take away traditional attacks. It’s become the next step in Smith’s game to turn from unconscious free swinger to selective attacker.

“I definitely wanted to work on bending the ball and being smart with it and seeing the court,” Smith said. “When I first started, I was just hitting. I would see the ball and hit it. Now, if I see a hole, I’ll tip it there or swing where the hole is. That’s been my big goal this year is to be smart and know where to place the ball.”

But don’t be fooled. She’s still more than willing to deliver a booming kill when it’s there, bouncing balls with thunderous load-time on her swing or even occasionally using an opponent’s face as the landing zone.

It’s never intentional when Smith lands a kill that leaves the opponent shaken and the home crowd oohing and ahhing, but she’s more than willing to let her teammates express freely.

“Really seeing everybody’s expressions, especially Baylor’s because she’s not an expressive person, and so when I see Baylor get hyped, I definitely know it was a big block or kill. But I’m never trying to show someone up or anything really,” Smith said.

Playing into her strengths has always been Hunt’s message to Smith. Early on, even when she didn’t start, Smith impressed with natural strength and power. But once the dedication to volleyball reached a new level, combined with extra time in the weight room, the kills became louder.

“She definitely developed her offensive skills, and she’s definitely developed a different approach to the way she kills,” Hunt said. “She’s got what we call those power kills and she can bounce balls off the court. I would always tell her, ‘Go put a hole in the floor.’ For Jade, I’d always just tell her load up and swing and go put a hole in the floor and she’s capable of doing that every night.”

Along with her leadership qualities and valuable skill, Cauley appreciates Smith’s recognition of the room to improve. Playing as a powerful righthanded hitter might come with a thinking to stay content with her style of play and just hope to overwhelm opponents. Not for Smith. And when your leaders find the extra inch to grow their game, Cauley said that’s what separates the good from great.

“You can have all the ability in the world, but you have to fine tune and you have to have skill and she’s worked hard over the last year and a half to become skilled and I’ve even seen an improvement this season on her shot selection and her thought process as a hitter instead of just taking the big swings every time,” Cauley said. “You can see the wheels turning and she’s getting better at it.

“Jade bounces balls when no one is in front of her for sure. When she’s on, it’s a lot of fun to watch.”