Hi, my name is… Nick Smith.
I’ve lived in Scottsdale for 28 years and I love it because… The community cares about coming together to give back in ways both big and small.
A typical day in my life includes… Watching a lot of football tapes since I’m a football coach at Notre Dame Preparatory. On top of that I work a full-time job and volunteer with the Fiesta Bowl.
My family… My oldest daughter is outgoing, energetic and a little eclectic. My middle daughter is my mini-me, so I pray for her a lot. My son, who’s graduating from USC, is very smart so I have to watch myself around him.
One thing I cannot live without is… Besides my family is my faith and football.
My favorite movie I could never get tired of watching and why… Harrison Ford’s “The Fugitive.” I love how the underdog can overcome adversity.
When I was younger, I wanted to be… A professional football player. I attended the University of Notre Dame from 1989-1992, where I played linebacker for the Fighting Irish under legendary coach Lou Holtz. After graduating from Notre Dame, I was drafted – but ultimately cut – by the Green Bay Packers and played in the Canadian Football League for a spell in 1993.
The song I would sing at Karaoke night is… Johnny Paycheck’s “Take this Job and Shove It” or “Tennessee Whiskey” by Chris Stapleton.
The one person who motivates me is… Not just one person: it’s a tie between my parents.
The last thing that made me laugh out loud was… Cedric the Entertainer.
The perfect day would be… I feel blessed every day because the challenges I face make me better. But I will say, in one weekend I had a high school football game on Friday, went to a college game on Saturday, and then to a professional football game on Sunday, and that was a pretty great time.
My favorite local nonprofit is…. Fiesta Bowl Charities. I joined the organization’s highest level of volunteer leadership – its executive board – after serving on the Fiesta Bowl Yellow Jacket Committee since 2012. At the heart of the Fiesta Bowl Organization is a simple mission: to enhance organizations that contribute to the success of their communities through youth sports and education. Through its two annual bowl games in the Valley, the PlayStation® Fiesta Bowl and the Guaranteed Rate Bowl, as well as community events throughout the year such as the Desert Financial Fiesta Bowl Parade, Fiesta Bowl Charities has given tens of millions back to the community.
My life… is simple. My faith, my job and my family create purpose for me so if I keep my eye on that, my life’s pretty good.
The best gift I’ve ever received was… A football scholarship to Notre Dame. That changed my life. The network I have because of that scholarship, the people I know and the impact that community has made on my life is the gift that keeps on giving.
My dream vacation would be to… Albany in the Bahamas. I’d like to be out there on a boat with the people that I love.
The best piece of advice I’ve ever received… My father would always say that ‘the right thing’ and ‘the hard thing’ lived on the same street, an allegory about making choices in this life. Often, to follow the right path, there are going to be hard decisions, hard trials and hard moments along the way. Doing what is right though is always worth dealing with those hard neighbors on that street.
