Love high school sports? Want an insider view? Meet Jesse Smithey our newest contributor at KnoxTNToday.
Jesse has created a stellar career in the sports field so to speak and is a genius in the journalism world of getting the sports news to the masses.
But let’s start at his beginning. Jesse was born in Memphis, moving to Humboldt, Tennessee, when he was about 2-years-old where he stayed through graduation from Humboldt High School, finishing third in his class. Humboldt is between Memphis and Nashville just in case your Tennessee geography is challenged.
Jesse enrolled at the University of Tennessee for basically three reasons. He knew he should go to an in-state school to get free tuition. His older brother attended the University of Tennessee. He wanted to get away from home as most 18-year-olds do. UT seemed to be the answer.
Halfway through his time in college at Tennessee, he could not find his direction which led to burn out and depression. He moved back to West Tennessee for a few months. He worked and attended UT-Martin for one semester, taking the two classes that gave him focus and directed his current life journey: accounting and journalism.
He says, “I struggled in journalism, because it’s such a variance in writing style than I was accustomed to. As a student who always had great grades, I took this as a challenge. Along the way, I found a passion for journalism and realized I could pair that with my love for sports. I returned to Knoxville in the summer of 2000 to resume my education here and try sports journalism in Knoxville.”
Graduating in May 2002, he began a career at the Knoxville News Sentinel that August starting as a grunt worker to populate a new high school website they were creating called KnoxPreps.com. Jesse inputted all the data the site housed: stats, schedules, rosters and more.
In 2003, it changed to PrepXtra.com, where he continued to input data, but the Sentinel sports staff also let him start laying out pages of the paper. Then about a year later, Jesse started covering some high school events.
By 2006, Jesse was the prep sports editor of PrepXtra, a position he held until 2014 when he made the financial decision to begin a new career with PlayRite, a synthetic turf company in Knoxville.
He still does work with PlayRite, but the media/journalism passion continued and in May 2018, Jesse and his team debuted 5StarPreps.com, a new media brand in East Tennessee dedicated to covering all high school sports.
Jesse doesn’t take his journey for granted. He credits the News Sentinel staff for teaching him and offering him opportunities. He appreciates the rewarding accomplishments of being a sports editor and growing two brands from their inception: PrepXtra and now his own 5StarPreps.
He recalls the beginnings of 5StarPreps: “We started 5Star Preps from nothing and our brand was widely unknown. But we poured our hearts into it and worked tirelessly. I passed out promotional items by hand at jamborees and football camps. Our writers, photographers and videographers simply outworked the competition until our brand grew to the point where people recognized the passion we were bringing, and our intent was pure.”
Jesse says his goal has always been to do the right thing in his stories and not to paint a negative light; not to make the story about the journalist. He loves to watch the kids he covers grow through high school from freshman to seniors and then following them on later in life. He has friendships with some he has covered two decades ago who are now adults.
He has had those stories that are hard to write. He has known youth who have lost their lives and Jesse says, “seeing the impact on teammates and family is gut wrenching.”
He has learned that sometimes it does need to be about you: getting work-life in balance. So, he has worked to be more intentional about his diet, exercise and sleep.
Jesse’s family is very much a part of that balance, spending cherished time with his wife of 20 years, Laura, 15-year-old daughter Cate and 10-year-old son Cameron.
Parents Jesse and Laura are busy with Cate, who dances for both Bearden High School and Revolution Dance, and Cameron, who Jesse describes as sports-crazed like himself.
So, Cameron goes to a lot of events with him, and the two have developed a newfound passion in sports card collecting. Never a dull moment in the Smithey family.
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- Jesse Smithey with with Paige Dauer, his co-host on the Walk Thru
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- Jesse, Cate, Cameron and Laura Smithey
We are excited at KnoxTNToday to become part of Jesse’s journey so look for a “High School Highlight” each week from a special game covered by 5StarPreps.
All of us have a story and I want to tell yours! Send them to susan@knoxtntoday.com.