The Wright Guy For The Job at SMC

By Mitch Chortkoff

Keith Shackleford was going to be hard to replace. He had been athletic director at Santa Monica College only a short time when he accepted a position with a new four-year school in Orange County. But he quickly had proven to be a man of action.

Congratulations to SMC, particularly School President Dr. Piedad Robertson, for finding a suitable replacement. Charlie Wright, the former Green Bay Packers tackle, has been on the job the last month and appears to have the same drive and determination as Shackelford.

When I met Wright I was prepared to offer some thoughts. I found him better prepared, knowing what he wanted and constantly writing notes.

He has outstanding people skills. When you talk he listens. He knows the area of expertise of people he meets and can get to the heart of a matter quickly.

We talked about how he can generate enthusiasm for the SMC athletic teams. We talked about fund-raising, which is a major part of his job. How to get the community thinking about SMC sports. How to get people to learn about the outstanding young people who play sports at the city's community college.

``This is what I have been working and preparing for," said Wright. ``A great opportunity to keep a well-established program in the forefront of a high competitive (Western State) conference and take it to the next level.''

Wright played football at Fullerton College, at the University of Florida and with the Packers. Following his NFL days he was in charge of athletic marketing at UNLV, then at UC Irvine and at the MET Rx Company in Irvine.

He is in charge of 19 SMC sports and in his brief time in the job three coaches have resigned. He tends to other duties while seeking replacements.

Gov. Gray Davis vetoed a $98 million package for community colleges, a blow so severe that it is being challened by lawmakers and could be restored. Just another obstacle for Wright to deal with.

There was a time when SMC's great football teams inspired local pride. Crowds were large each week at Corsair Field.

Times changes when professional sports took hold all over Southern California, including the Westside. The success of Santa Monica High's football team last season also shifted attention away from SMC. Typically, crowds were larger for Samohi games on Friday night at SMC's Corsair Field than for SMC games on Saturday night.

It has hurt SMC that its football coach, Robert Taylor, is not accessible to the media. He has done well establishing a successful program but a poor job of selling it. The media, consequently, has turned their attention to the personable high school coaches, Norm Lacy at Samohi and Randy Robinson at St. Monica.

Football is the highest profile sport and the SMC season will begin Sept. 8 with a home game against College of the Desert. From all indications SMC has another good team.

Last season SMC didn't make a bowl game, so it invented one called the Beach Bowl with the help of a sponsor, US Bank. The game was considered a success and the sponsor has committed to another game at the end of this season at Corsair Field.