It’s hard to overstate the impact Ken Smith has had on high school sport in the Bay of Quinte region. A coach, educator, mentor, and builder of community, Ken’s influence reaches far beyond the gym and continues to shape the lives of athletes and coaches today.
Ken began his athletic journey in Stirling, where he quarterbacked the 1966 Golden Hawks football team to an undefeated season and COSSA championship, alongside future Belleville Sports Hall of Fame inductees Rob Cooke and Barry Pyear. He went on to play varsity football at the University of Guelph before returning to the classroom and the court, teaching first at BCI and then at Moira Secondary School, where his name would become synonymous with basketball excellence.
Over nearly three decades at Moira, Ken coached teams to 25 Bay of Quinte and 10 COSSA basketball championships, across junior and senior, men’s and women’s divisions. His coaching went far beyond strategy and skill—he was known for his “ability to see not just the athlete, but the individual within the athlete.” Many of his students went on to compete at the post-secondary level and even more followed his example and became coaches themselves.
Ken organized coaching clinics to “interest, instruct and inspire,” served as president of the Belleville Spirits program, and in 2018, played an assistant role in guiding Nicholson Catholic College to BoQ, COSSA, and OFSAA championships. His leadership earned him the Pete Beach Award and the BQBOA Basketball Person of the Year.
When Ken Smith arrived at Moira in 1974, the school didn’t even have a gym. Upon his retirement in 2002, that gym was named the Ken Smith Gymnasium, a tribute that endures at Eastside Secondary School. With his induction, Ken now joins many of the very athletes and peers he coached, inspired and stood alongside in the Belleville Sports Hall of Fame.
