Caryl Smith-Gilbert is the director of the men’s and women’s track teams at the University of Georgia; if you yawn and move on about your day, be aware that track in these parts is likely to be sensational on her watch ¬– just give her competitive facilities, and you’ll see.
Before she cleaned out her desk in Los Angeles’ University Park neighborhood, home of the University of Southern California, UGA committed to building an Olympic-sized track facility, including an indoor arena. The forthcoming track facilities will be of such magnitude that UGA will be capable of hosting international competitions, and high school and grade school kids will come to this facility for training and expert instruction.
It will be the best facility in the east of Mississippi.
Also among Caryl’s reasons for coming to the opposite side of the country was the influence and commitment of Georgia Athletic Director Josh Brooks. He is an Olympic sports advocate, holding the same goals and aspirations for all UGA teams. Track and field, however, needed a facility upgrade.
Already, Caryl has attracted some of the nation’s top recruits to Athens and has enjoyed such finishes as second at the ‘23 men’s NCAA indoor championships and third by the women at the ‘24 NCAA indoor championships.
This is a coach who is also all about the classroom. Caryl has three degrees: film and TV production at UCLA, a master's in sports management, and a doctorate in sports psychology at Tennessee. Her girls' and boys' graduation rates are 100 percent.
This July and August, Caryl will lead a contingent of 17 current and former Bulldog track stars to Paris for the Olympics. There, she will connect with the elite hierarchy in and field circles, with whom she will not be a stranger.
Born in Denver, Caryl took to track competition early on; turning heads when outrunning the boys was as easy as fielding an A in the classroom.
“I didn’t know I wasn’t supposed to beat the boys,” she says with a smile. Now, she wants to take it to signature status – to be the first female head coach to win a men’s national championship.
She had parents who wanted the best for her, but the challenge was ever present, and discipline forever underscored. Caryl became so addicted to track competition that she quit saxophone lessons and resigned from the Girl Scouts, which did not please her dad. He said he would boycott her meets, with the proviso that he would watch her run only if she made it to the finals.
Once she got to those finals, winning was notable in that it wasn’t just a victory; she won with a handicap – she broke the tape wearing tennis shoes. Dad couldn’t wait to buy her spikes the next day.
UCLA claimed her signature for collegiate competition, and while not the best of times for her, Caryl enjoyed the college experience and returned home with a degree. She visited her high school coach, Tony Wells, to whom she greatly owes.
“He took me from just being fast to being number one in the U.S. in high school. He taught me the work ethic, that it takes more than talent, and how to do the small stuff. Most of all, he taught me never to quit.”
When she left Westwood and returned home at 23 years old, Coach Wells always accentuated the positive, making another crucial influence on her career.
He told her about a high school track coaching opportunity, but she said she wasn’t interested – at least initially.
Caryl was as green as the infield grass of the track where she coached, without savvy and seasoning. Immediately, however, she found she enjoyed the challenge of coaching and the rewards of seeing kids improve and become winners and champions with compassion to get a college degree, serve their communities, become good citizens, and do some good for the world.
You expect that from a Renaissance woman.
She won the NCAA women’s titles at USC in 2018 and 2021.
“I’ve been fortunate to have experienced a great career, but there’s more I want to get done. I want to win national titles at Georgia, so I have done that at more than one school. I want to win the women’s hundred, which I haven’t done yet – that’s the event I ran.”
Her husband, Greg Gilbert, played football at Alabama and later with the Raiders and the Bears in the NFL.
“My middle son Spencer played football at USC, and my youngest son, Osiris, is playing football for Peachtree Ridge and has about 15 offers in football,” she said, adding that her family is “really into football” and loves the ‘Dawgs under head coach Kirby Smart.
“I look at Kirby’s roster and see all those starters from the state of Georgia. This state has such a rich talent base. I tell our prospects, ‘You gotta’ come to see how amazing this place is and be part of a championship culture. Our goal is to win championships. You will be amazed at what Georgia really is,’” she said. “And don’t forget, it is one of the best universities in the country. You can take your degree from here and go and do whatever you want.”
This confirms Caryl is not succumbing to expediency with track athletes, to just use up their eligibility and bid them farewell.
She wants to meet up with them 20 years from now and see them thriving and with their own kids benefitting from the teachings, motivation, and discipline they experienced by having come Coach Caryl’s way.