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Natasha Smith
A bright young star rising over Gloucester.
Gloucester,
Massachusetts is widely regarded as the oldest seaport in America. But this historic fishing community may soon be known
for something else: the hometown of one of the most promising young multi-event female athletes in the country.
Not
yet 14 years old, Gloucester’s Natasha Smith burst onto the New England track and field scene with a string of
impressive performances that earned her Athlete of the Meet honors at the Northeast Indoor Classic at MIT in Cambridge,
Massachusetts in January. Competing in just two meets this indoor season, Natasha’s many accomplishments included marks
of 5 feet in the high jump, 15 feet, 2.5 inches in the long jump, 9.04 in the 55-meter hurdles, 29 feet, 3
inches
in the shot put, and 2:33.69 in the 800-meter run.
But excellent performances are nothing new for this remarkable teen.
An eighth-grade student at the Cape Ann Waldorf School, Natasha is an accomplished cellist and pianist who also writes, paints
and only recently turned in a highly-praised performance as Mrs. Van Daan in her school’s production of
“The Diary of Anne Frank.”
According to Jim Munn, Natasha’s coach and mentor, there is little this
extraordinary girl can’t do once she sets her mind to it. “She is easily one of the most gifted and determined
young athletes I have ever had the pleasure of working with,” Munn said in a recent interview.
And the coach
knows of what he speaks, having produced numerous individual and team state champions, as well as dozens of Massachusetts
All Scholastics as the head coach at Gloucester High School. Munn’s resume, too extensive to list
here, also includes numerous records, including the current U.S. high school indoor record of 9:59.94 in the distance
medley relay, set at the Armory in New York City in March 2,000.
Munn believes Natasha’s options are unlimited.
“There is no question in my mind that she can develop into an excellent hurdler and high jumper,” he
said. “She is a quick learner and hard worker who possesses both the physical and mental skills necessary to advance
to a very high level in
everything from the javelin and discus to the long sprints, hurdles, and even the middle distances,
if she so chooses.
“But most important of all,” the coach added, “Natasha is, quite simply, a
real sweetheart. She is a first-class human being, a quiet, caring, sensitive, intelligent and beautiful young girl
who is going to accomplish something very special on one or another of the many stages of life.”
Natasha Smith, remember the name. It’s one many already are coming to know as
that wonderful young performer from the storied
seaport of Gloucester.
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