The Steinbach Pistons bench will be losing a familiar face on the bench and in the community with the announcement that Assistant Coach Rob Smith will be transitioning to a new position with the Rink Hockey Academy for the upcoming 2016-2017 hockey season.

Smith who has spent the past four seasons helping guide the Pistons organization to the upper echelon of the MJHL, talked about his new position. "I'll be the head coach of he midget prep team. My job is now to recruit 19 players and essentially 19 families to our program for next season. The Academy is based around development and brings academics and hockey together." It was a tough decision but Smith was able to concentrate at the task at hand leading the Pistons through the MJHL. "I was contacted about a year ago almost. I had no confirmations about it, but knew it might become available. In December I went in for a few interviews and by January, I knew I had the position. I was kind of thinking about it but with it starting in the off season, all my attention was still with Steinbach."

When you come to the end of a road, you tend to look back and for Smith, he shared how he ended up behind the bench of the Pistons. "I was working as a head coach in the Winnipeg AAA system with the Bantam Monarchs. We had some good players on that team. I think it was the beginning of October, I was just going about the business with my team and then I got a phone call at home from Paul (Dyck). I knew of Paul but I didn't know him very well and we just had actually spoke a few weeks prior, we bumped into each other while scouting at a rink in Winnipeg. He offered the position and it didn't take me very long to accept, I think I called him back a couple hours later or the next morning. I was all in. It was a little different because I jumped into the season 3 or 4 weeks in, there was a bit of a transition phase with that for sure." Smith talked about what his first impression was of the new league. "Well it was fast." Smith said with a laugh. "It was really cool the first time I got on the bench, it was with Dave Anning, he was still there and Paul was on the bench as well. They just wanted to bring me in and it really helped with my transition. Just to see how Dave was running things and what the guys were used to, just getting a sense of how Dave and Paul were running the bench. I remember watching Dave, he's a great coach and he's very intense and observing them both, it was a great experience."

Being with one of the top tier teams in the league is something Smith has never taken for granted and he's proud to have been a part of building a winning program. "It's great to be a part of something that is successful. The part that makes it even more special is that it's Steinbach, it's where I'm from. It's a place I love and call home. To be a part of something in your hometown with people you know, it's something I'll never forget and I don't know what the future will bring for me but it will be one of the top things I've been through. I'll always be proud of the work everyone has done, it's been a collective effort."

This season, the Pistons headed to the MJHL finals for a third time in four years and as time wound down, Smith talked about what was going through his mind. "Well, it kind of sinks in later. I was pretty emotional for sure, I felt like I did my best to block everything out, all the distractions like the last time working with Paul and Graham (Pollock). It's kind of hitting me more now and it will hit me more when the season starts and I'm on a bench with somebody else. At the time, I was just thinking about how do we get back in the series. As a coach, you have to feel that way in hockey."

The coaching group in Steinbach is a tight group and Smith knows working with Paul Dyck and Graham Pollock have helped make him the coach and person he is today. "Paul is the guy I look up to. I've been very fortunate to get to work with him. He's the guy you want to be like. Everyone picks a coach you want to model your career after a little bit, you really like the way they handle themselves and conduct themselves and Paul's that guy for me. I love the way he coaches, we're different people still but he's a mentor to me and someone I will model my career after." He also credits Graham with showing him a new way to look at the game. "He's a very interesting man and I mean that in a very positive way. He analyzes the game so well and after getting to know each other, he has taught me how to prepare more objectively. He brings things to us every week that we should be aware of. He's showed me how that package can unveil the truth about a team. I was never a huge stats guy but he's shown me a bigger world in that sense. Not just the number side but his passion for the game. He does amazing work and he's shown me how a true person that loves the game acts."

Over the four seasons, Smith has seen a number of players come in and out of the organization, moving on to other hockey opportunities or moving on in education, he talked about what it means to him knowing he's impacted the lives of so many. "It's why you do it, it's why. I'm never the guy to say I coached this guy or I was a part of that, I'm not the guy to announce that. At the end of the day it's on the players and I'm just a small part of it. I'm not going to lie, it feels great to be a part of a kid coming in who's got the ability and puts it together mentally to reach the next level. As a coach, we want to be a small part of helping them accomplish their goal."

Recruiting is always an important part of the game, especially with a new program like the Rink Hockey Academy. "It's been a learning process, I wasn't very much a part of it with the Pistons, not on the front lines and it's a learning process and I'm enjoying it." Smith said with a chuckle. "The biggest thing for me is I just want to be honest. I want to communicate well with these families and be straight to the point and genuine. At the end of the day, if I'm honest and communicated well, I feel like I've done my part.  I've worked hard to build my resume and to be in a position to maybe help my recruiting. I know being a part of Steinbach and that organization has helped as people speak highly of it. I think it helps, like in any career you work hard to receive credibility and build a reputation, I think it helps."

Next season for the returning players, coaches and the fan base that has grown accustomed to seeing the always sharp dressed Smith, chewing gum, pacing back and forth or scribbling down notes that will help give his team an edge in the fast paced game of hockey, no longer there and for him to look back, Smith is all smiles. "It's been a great ride. It was always nice when my wife Lindsey would come to the game and she was embraced with the fans and the community. The fans, if we were losing or winning, these people always seemed to have our back and you could feel that. The fans are very proud of their team and you know that."

Rob Smith will continue to coach and impact the lives of hockey players on and off the ice and although it will be in different colours, he will always have a spot for the Steinbach Pistons in his heart.