Central Valley High School: Military service appeals to Danner Smith as ‘a way to give back’

Heading to Gonzaga University this fall, Danner Smith said he is prepared to fail.

That’s not to say he will, nor is it to say he wants to. On the contrary, while the 18-year-old hates to lose, Smtih said there are lessons in loss. High school taught him that.

“At this point, this is where I start to learn by failing,” Smith said. “In college, I will make significant mistakes. I will probably do things I shouldn’t have, and I think that’s probably the biggest part of learning. I think that’s what makes that distinction between a kid and an adult. You start to make your own decisions, good and bad – and that’s kind of how you learn.”

Growing up, Smith’s family was focused on perfection with everything from grades to sports, he said. His upbringing helped forge his competitive drive that spurred him through his high school athletic career.

Smith was a regional champion wrestler and a Junior Olympics national decathlon qualifier. He participated in football and track all four years, though he dropped wrestling after his junior year partly due to lack of interest, he said. Not only that, but Smith said three sports plus volunteer work – whether through Valley Real Life Church or helping out with unified sports – ate into his time for other things, such as figuring out what he wanted to do for college.

Military service appealed to Smith as a way to give back “to the people who gave so much to me,” he said.

“It was more that I just felt like I owed it,” Smith said. “Not in a debt way, but I felt like it was my calling to serve and defend.”

At first, Smith was committed to the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado. Realizing he wanted more of a college life rather than a service academy experience, however, Smith opted to apply for the Army ROTC program, through which he received a four-year scholarship.

Though Smith told his parents prior to committing to Gonzaga that there was a “zero percent” chance he was going there, a visit to see the ROTC program on campus won him over. Smith said he is looking into active duty, possibly special forces since that fits his skill set and competitive nature.

“I still wanted to be able to do ‘Danner things,’ essentially, and still live that life of volunteering and being active in my church instead of being so involved in the military academy aspect so much that I couldn’t still be who I am,” he said.

Charles Bowden, Smith’s track coach, said Smith “embodies what sports are about” in that he embraces the challenges of competition while remaining balanced and good-natured.

“He is nice in a real way, and polite because he wants to be. That is what I admire about him the most,” Bowden said in an email. “None of that is at the expense of him being a great athlete. Whether it is carrying the football on a scoring drive, or wrestling, or facing a new challenge in the pole vault – Danner is a true competitor. Just not at the expense of his character.”

Smith’s parents, Bradly and Megan Smith, described their son as a “silent leader” who leads by example.

“He’s a very, very quiet, awesome kid. He’s not that kid that a lot of people will see right off the bat,” Bradly Smith said. “He kind of sneaks up on you until you realize what he’s actually capable of.”