Indian Creek senior Joey Smith is the area’s top returning individual swimmer, having placed 10th in the 50-yard freestyle at last season’s state meet.
Daily Journal file photo
Aside from a pair of calendar whiteboards and the multicolored floor lamp next to his desk, David Martin’s office at the Indian Creek pool is almost completely empty — a far cry from how it looked just three or four months ago, when longtime coach Brad Smith had a quarter century’s worth of memories (and perhaps clutter) built up in there.
Whether Martin continues with the current bare aesthetic remains to be seen. For now, though, the office symbolizes somewhat of a fresh start for a Braves’ swim program that had been a pillar of continuity.
Martin had coached on this side of Indianapolis for more than a decade, including some time at Greenwood, but he’d been out of the game for about 15 years, taking some time to watch his own children grow up. Now, he’s excited about the opportunities and the challenges that come with taking over at Indian Creek, which has consistently punched above its weight in the pool.
The boys in particular have high expectations this winter, with all of the key performers back from a team that placed 33rd at the state meet after finishing third behind Franklin and Center Grove in one of the state’s fastest sectionals. So it makes sense that Martin wants to maintain at least some sense of status quo.
Still, having a new voice on deck should be a welcome addition.
“Keeping things relatively the same is good, because I think it’s been working so far,” said senior Joey Smith, the county’s top returning individual as a 10th-place state finisher in the 50-yard freestyle. “(But) with any new coaches, you want them to throw in their expertise, what they know. Don’t keep everything the exact same. They obviously have a different style, and they’re better in some things than others. You really want to take advantage of that, having different coaches and learn from multiple people, just so you can be the best swimmer you can.”
Joey and his brother, junior Sam Smith, spent this summer swimming with the club team at Center Grove, where Brad Smith accepted the newly created aquatic director position in August. But while they enjoyed the chance to practice alongside a deep and talented team, there was never really any question about where they were going to spend the high school season.
The Smith name and Indian Creek swimming are inextricably linked. Not only was Brad Smith a longtime presence in the school system, where both his wife and daughter still teach, but the Braves’ pool is named for the late Chase Smith, who passed away in April at the age of 19.
That connection meant far too much to Joey and Sam, who always looked up to their older cousin.
“I kind of use it as really big motivation,” Sam Smith said. “There’s a big legacy here, and I want to fulfill that, so every time that I train, that’s really all I think about, and it just motivates me more than anything else.”
“It’s obviously something that you think about when you come back here and swim,” Joey added. “(Chase is) not around to help, he’s not around here to swim with you, stuff like that. But at some point you’ve got to think, ‘What would he want?’ You’ve got to keep his legacy going at this pool. The pool’s named after him. You can’t let that down, you know? You’ve got to keep his mental strength; you’ve got to take that and use it for yourself, and really use that to power yourself through some of those hard thoughts.”
Despite being out of coaching for the past several years, Martin isn’t blind to that history and isn’t trying to distance himself or his team from it. During his introductory meetings with swimmers and parents, he made it a point to ask if there were any traditions that they wanted to keep going.
Martin has also conversed with Brad Smith several times during the transition period, one of a few old colleagues the new coach has reconnected with as he re-immerses himself in Johnson County’s close-knit swimming community.
“I’m well aware of his history here; I’m well aware of his legacy,” Martin said. “Obviously, I see it every day walking into my office — because Chase’s name is on the natatorium. … It’s there. You know it’s there. That being said, even though I’ve been out of this for 15 years, I coached and taught lessons on the southside for almost 15 years, so it’s not like I wasn’t a part of this community. If I had been a newcomer, just completely outside of the community, that may have been a different thing, but I used to coach against Brad a lot. I know all of the same people, so I don’t feel like such a newcomer to the area.”
Perhaps at some point, Martin’s office will reflect that. But for now, he’s focused on the business at hand.
And keeping it, as much so as he can, business as usual.
“Just trying to be as normal as possible is what we’re going to do,” Martin said. “We’re just going to tackle the season like any other season.”
