BACK ON THE RIGHT PATH; COC'S SMITH HAS GONE FROM HARDLY WORKING TO WORKING HARD.Byline: Brian Dalziel Staff Writer Last year Charlie Smith received a rude wake-up call during his first, and last, season as a freshman at UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX . Fraternity parties were Smith's priority, and he began missing practice. Neither his coach nor his teammates took kindly to that, and the chemistry among them began to fizzle fiz·zle intr.v. fiz·zled, fiz·zling, fiz·zles 1. To make a hissing or sputtering sound. 2. Informal To fail or end weakly, especially after a hopeful beginning. n. . Finally, when Smith missed a required practice at Bel-Air Country Club, he was cut from the team. ``I felt bad,'' said Smith, who was a redshirt red·shirt tr.v. red·shirt·ed, red·shirt·ing, red·shirts To keep (a college or school athlete) out of varsity competition for one year in order to extend the athlete's period of eligibility. . ``I didn't nearly work as hard as I should have. I joined a frat, and that was the last thing I thought I would do. And I was partying and I got into trouble.'' Ultimately, Smith - who admitted he was ``overwhelmed'' - left UCLA. ``I was unhappy with everything,'' he said. Smith, a three-time first team All-Foothill League selection from Hart High, has returned home to Santa Clarita Santa Clarita, city (1990 pop. 110,642), Los Angeles co., S Calif., suburb 30 mi (48 km) NW of downtown Los Angeles, on the Santa Clara River; inc. 1987. Situated in the Santa Clara valley and nearby canyons, Santa Clarita includes the former towns of Canyon Country, and appears to have regained his focus. The 19-year-old left-hander enrolled at College of the Canyons College of the Canyons is one of the fastest-growing community colleges in the state. According to the National Junior College Research Association, College of the Canyons consistently ranks in the top 50 community colleges in the nation. . ``I'm moving forward and I like COC See chip on chip. ,'' Smith said. ``They got a lot of good players and I'm looking forward to it. I don't want to fool around any more. I know I'm happy with my life right now, and I feel what I'm doing now is great.'' At Hart, where he was a four-year letterman under coach Dennis Ford, Smith had a 74.2 stroke average (71.2 in league) his senior season. He won three Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, Professional Golf Association events and added top-10 finishes in two American Junior Golf Association The American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) is a "501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to the overall growth and development of young men and women who aspire to earn college golf scholarships through competitive junior golf. tournaments. ``He had some outstanding rounds,'' Ford said. ``He was really a solid player. He was long and not wrong very often. When he focused he was very, very good.'' Being focused is something Smith has been since enrolling at COC this summer, taking two classes while working part-time in the cart barn at Valencia Country Club. He plans on taking six classes in each of the next two semesters and signing up for two summer school classes so he can transfer to a Division I college next season. ``I'm trying to get a full-ride scholarship coming out of COC,'' said Smith, who wants to stay in Southern California. ``And you have to play well to do that. I have a lot of work ahead of me this year, but I plan on playing well. It's going to be tough, but if that's what it takes . . . '' Although the men's golf season doesn't begin until next semester se·mes·ter n. One of two divisions of 15 to 18 weeks each of an academic year. [German, from Latin (cursus) s , Smith said he plans on keeping sharp by playing in local tournaments. ``I want to be good again,'' he said. ``I know I can grind and practice really hard. I'm basically starting over. ``I have learned that these (college) guys are good. And if you slack off, they are going to smoke you. They are too good these days so you really got to work hard.'' CAPTION(S): Photo PHOTO Chalie Smith former UCLA golfer, who is starting his career over at College of the Canyons Hans Gutknecht/Staff Photographer |
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