Growth marks the Smith legacy at Vernon Hills

It wouldn't be quite accurate to call Andrew Smith a "tree hugger." Although, if he could be one, he certainly would be.

Smith, who goes by his nickname "Chick," a nod to one of his father's close friends, can't quite get his arms around his favorite tree anymore.

"It's gotten too big," Smith said.

But before every home football game at Vernon Hills, Smith and his teammates, touch, tug or pat at this one special tree that is located beyond the south end zone. It's a tribute to Julie Smith, Chick's Mom.

Julie Smith died of cancer in 2010, when Chick was a sixth grader. The youth baseball and softball fields where Chick and his older sister Sydney used to play are located next to the football field, and a tree was planted there to commemorate all the hours she spent there watching her kids. There is a plaque on the tree with her name on it.

"When I'm having a tough time in sports or school or at home, I visit my Mom's tree," said Smith, a 6-foot-1, 205-pound linebacker and offensive lineman who is a three-year starter for the Cougars. "It's one of my favorite things to do. It gives me peace of mind."

Sister Sydney, a superstar basketball player at Vernon Hills in her day, has also provided a safe haven for Smith. And vice versa.

The Smith kids leaned on each other through their Mom's final days. And after, too.

"Sydney has been like a mother figure for me," Chick Smith said. "She's given me advice. She's helped me buy clothes, pick out outfits. She's helped me with school, she's helped me buy my school supplies. She's come to my games.

"I went to a lot of her games, too. Even now, I'll send her texts before her games and tell her that Mom is looking out for her. She texts me before my games, too."

Sydney and Chick are by far each other's biggest cheerleaders. Sydney is now a junior who starts on the basketball team at the University of Vermont.

"I'm just super proud of my brother," Sydney Smith said. "What we went through with my Mom was so sad and horrible and he was so young. I wouldn't wish that on anyone.

"But I think our family really rebounded in a positive way. We all decided that we needed to keep working hard and trying to reach our goals. We needed to do it for her and not use what happened to her as a reason to stop trying."

Indeed, the Smith siblings, encouraged by their devoted father Gregg, seemed to try only harder.

Sydney finished as the all-time scoring and rebounding leader in Vernon Hills history and led the Cougars downstate. She was also the Daily Herald's Lake County all-area team captain as a senior and was named second team all-state.

Meanwhile, Chick has made a name for himself within the football and baseball programs.

He's one of the Cougars' top pitchers and he's been a starter on the varsity football team since his sophomore year.

Defense is his thing, and he's 113 tackles away from becoming the all-time leading tackler in school history.

"I really like defense because you get to fly around and play with heart and emotion," Smith said. "I think defense is the most important part of the game."

And being physical is an important part of Smith's game. He says he's become a "weight room rat" to add the strength necessary to play the inside linebacker spot. He's put on more than 20 pounds over the last two years.

"Working out is really key to my game," Smith said. "As an inside linebacker, you're dealing with a lot of big hits and tackles and the physicality is so important."

Smith works out in the Vernon Hills weight room and then does his own workouts at EFT in Highland Park, a training facility that specializes in weight lifting, agility and speed.

Known as one of the best lifters in the Vernon Hills program, Smith can bench and power clean 270 pounds and squat 320 pounds.

"I also do special linebacker drills at EFT," Smith said. "I've been going there since my sophomore year. It's really helped me out. It's made me better."

Smith only wishes his mother could see the nearly finished product.

He was only beginning his journey in competitive sports when she died.

"Football has been a big outlet for me and my family to not think about the sad or negative things so much. That's one of the reasons I love football so much," Smith said.

Smith hopes to keep playing football in college. On Friday, he and his teammates will host Zion-Benton in their first home game of the season. Only three home games will remain after that, which means only three more times with the tree.

"I'll probably cry when I touch the tree on Friday," Smith said. "It will be a rush of emotion. But it gets me ready to play. I always think about how my Mom told me to go out and do my best. She'd always say, 'You've got this, honey.' "

pbabcock@dailyherald.com

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