Last time we did a penpal assignment I had yet to find a penpal. I can now say I do have one. My penpal is Tim Smith from Chesapeake, Virginia and is the Wide Receivers coach for the Norfolk State football team. A fun fact about my penpal is that we actually attend the same high school Oscar Smith where we both won state championships in football him in 2008 and me in 2020. After setting countless VHSL football records Tim Smith attended the University of Virginia where he excelled in the classroom and on the football field. After spending 5 years at the University of Virginia he made runs at the NFL and CFL. After his playing career was over he jumped into coaching and giving back to younger generations starting at his high school Oscar Smith where he spent 3 years leading Oscar Smith to a state championship appearance in 2017 as offense coordinator. From there he took his coaching to college ranks starting at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania where he eventually was named offense coordinator after being Wide Receiver coach. From there he took his coaching talents to Valpo University where he was wide receivers coach. From there he decided to go professional and work in CFL where he was the Tigercats wide receivers who coached multiple guys to CFL All-stars. He is now coaching at Norfolk State as their wide receiver coach giving back to the younger generations. The process of gaining a penpal was really interesting to say the least. I noted before that I wanted to gain a penpal that was from the same area as me and I luckily gained one that ironically walked the same high school halls as I did. I think gaining the penpal that I did was really beneficial since he is in the profession that I want to pursue. Gaining a penpal that has been through the coaching process and bounced around different levels of football is great for my process and being able to have resources in the coaching game. Being able to learn from someone that is from the same area as me and has been through the coaching process is especially crazy nowadays. This process of reaching out and gaining a penpal has been extremely beneficial and I’m glad to have gone through it.