Caryl Smith-Gilbert is the director of men’s and women’s track teams at the University of Georgia; if you yawn and move on about your day, be aware that track in these parts is likely to be sensational on her watch—just give her competitive facilities and you’ll see.

The more you learn about her, the less you will yawn.  It is reasonable to forecast that a volley of hosannas will come to pass in the future. The ingredients are there, and there is no holding her back.  Before she cleaned out her desk in Los Angeles’ University Park neighborhood, the home of the University of Southern California, there was a commitment from UGA to build an Olympic sized track facility, including an indoor arena.  It will be the best such facility east of the Mississippi.

One of her reasons for coming to the opposite side of the country was the influence and commitment of Georgia Athletic Director, Josh Brooks. He is an Olympic sports advocate, but you could say he has the same goals and aspirations for all UGA teams.  Track and field, however, was more in need of a facility upgrade.

Already, she has brought some of the nation’s top recruits to Athens and has enjoyed such finishes as 2^nd at the ‘23 men’s NCAA indoor championships and a third place by the women at the ‘24 NCAA indoor championships.

The forthcoming track facilities will be of such magnitude that UGA will be able to host international competition in due course.  High school and grade school kids can come to this facility for training and expert instruction.  

Her eyes gleam with passionate excitement when she connects you with an assistant coach at a rival SEC school who shares this poignant data:  There are more kids keen on track along the I-85 corridor from Virgina, the Carolinas, Georgia, Alabama, and Florida than any other geographical area in the country and that includes California, her last address.  More kids, she says, “do track” in this corridor than “anywhere else” which is why the Southeastern Conference is about to dominate track like never before, making the best better.

A factor of elevated significance is that track coaches in Georgia and sister states are becoming elite coaches.  Sprinters and runners, jumpers and throwers are the beneficiaries of preeminent instruction and advanced training.  The Smith-Gilbert effect will enhance it even more.

This is a coach who is all about the classroom, too. She has three degrees: Film and TV production at UCLA; Masters in sports management and doctorate in sports psychology at Tennessee.  The graduation rate with her girls and boys is 100 percent.

Here is how she lets her charges know what the importance of classroom attendance and homework are. Cut class and she will sit you down the next meet.  

Say you are a superstar from Orlando and you come with a faux pas that brings about an academic shortcoming, she will leave you home when the Florida Relays take place.

She will lead a contingent of 17 current and former Bulldog track stars to Paris for the Olympics in July and August where she will connect with the elite hierarchy in track and field circles with whom she will not be a stranger.  And, not coincidentally, she will get in some shopping at Louis Vuitton, 101 des Champs-Elysees.   After all, she, the well-rounded sports person, has occasions to be best dressed.

An accomplished coach whose attention to detail makes her not miss anything that might be most valuable for success, she enjoys her life in Nike warm-up gear, but transitioning into Louis Vuitton attire for the right occasion befits her taste and style.

Born in Denver, she took to track competition early on, turning heads when outrunning the boys was as easy as fielding an A in the classroom.  “I didn’t know I wasn’t supposed to beat the boys,” she smiles.  Now she wants to take it to signature status—she wants to be the first female head coach to win a men’s national championship.  

She had parents who wanted the best for her, but challenge was ever present, discipline forever underscored.  She became so addicted to track competition that she quit saxophone lessons and resigned from the Girl Scouts which did not please her dad who boycotted her meets with the proviso that he would come watch her run only if she made it into the finals.

Winning, when she got to the finals, was especial in that it wasn’t just a victory, she won with a handicap—she broke the tape wearing tennis shoes.  Dad couldn’t wait to buy her spikes the next day.

UCLA claimed her signature for collegiate competition, and while it was not the best of times, she enjoyed the college experience and returned home with a degree.  She paid a visit to her high school coach, Tony Wells, to whom she owes so much.  “He took me from ‘just being fast’ to being No. 1 in the U. S. in high school. He taught me the work ethic, he taught me that it takes more than talent, teaching me how to do the small stuff. Most of all he taught me to never quit.”

When she left Westwood and returned home at 23 years of age, there was Coach Wells, always accentuating the positive, making another crucial influence on her career.  He told her about a high school track coaching opportunity, but she was not interested. At least initially.

She was as green as the infield grass of the track where she coached, without savvy and seasoning.  It was tantamount to being in a raging river without a lifejacket.  Immediately, she found she enjoyed the challenge of coaching, however, along with the rewards of seeing kids improve and become winners and champions with compassion to get a college degree, serve their communities, become good citizens, and do some good for the world.  You expect that from a Renaissance woman.

At USC she won the NCAA women’s titles in 2018 and 2021.  Her credentials are stacked as high as cordwood in a Swiss forest.  “I’ve been fortunate to have experienced a great career but there’s more I want to get done. I want to win national titles at Georgia so I can say I have done that at more than one school.  I want to win the women’s hundred, which I haven’t done yet—that is the event I ran.”

Her husband Greg Gilbert played football at Alabama—and with the Raiders and the Bears in the NFL. “My middle son Spencer played football at USC and my youngest son, Osiris, is playing football for Peachtree Ridge and has about 15 offers in football,” she smiles.

She is an overt fan of football coach Kirby Smart.  “Our family is really into football.  We love the ‘Dogs.’  I look at Kirby’s roster and see all those starters from the state of Georgia.  This state has such a rich talent base. I tell our prospects, ‘You gotta come see how amazing this place is and be part of a championship culture.  Our goal is to win championships.  You will be amazed at what Georgia really is.  And don’t forget, it is one of the best universities in the country.  You can take your degree from here and go and do whatever you want.”

This confirms that she is not succumbing to expediency with track athletes—use up their eligibility and bid them adieu.  She wants to meet up with them twenty years from now and see them successful in business with their own kids benefitting from the teachings, motivation and discipline they experienced by having come Coach Caryl’s way.