After a career in top-flight professional football as a player, coach and manager (including a successful period as manager of Plymouth Argyle), Dave Smith needs little introduction to the football-loving population of the Plymouth area. Dave Smith has successfully organised children's soccer schools for 14 years with his unique brand of enthusiasm and coaching expertise.

Dave joined Burnley as a fifteen year-old in 1949, signing his first professional contract the following year and making his first team debut away to Tottenham Hotspur in 1955. Despite injury problems, he stayed with the Clarets until 1961 when he joined Brighton and Hove Albion, before moving on to Bristol City a year later where he finished his playing career.

After his playing career came to an end, Dave discovered the delights of coaching. He qualified as a coach in 1957 (whilst still playing) and took up his first full time coaching post in 1964 with Libya - reaching the Arab Federation Cup final. Returning to England a year later, Dave's first coaching job in club football was with Sheffield Wednesday, where the club reached the F.A. Cup Final during his time with them. Moving on to Newcastle United, moving on to Newcastle United, Dave was the chief coach, who along with Joe Harvey masterminded that now famous victory in the 1969 European Fairs Cup (now U.E.F.A. Cup), still the club's last major trophy.

A three year spell as reserve team manager at Arsenal led on to a move into management, and Dave made his managerial debut with Mansfield Town. Under his management, Mansfield claimed the Fourth Division championship and promotion to Division Three in 1975 as well as successful runs in both the Football League Cup (Quarter-final) and Anglo-Scottish cup (semi finals) the following year.

Moving on to Southend United, Dave again led a club out of the Fourth Division as Southend finished second in 1978, and after the set-back of relegation two years later he was able to turn the team around and win the Fourth Division title in 1981. Taking over at Plymouth Argyle in 1984 with the club in the lower reaches of the Third Division, Dave steered the Pilgrims to safety and in his first full season secured promotion as runners-up, finishing a creditable seventh in the first season in the Second Division in 1987.

In 1988, Dave left Plymouth to take over at his home-town club Dundee, but quickly returned to the south-west in 1989 for a successful spell as manager of Torquay United, building a side capable of winning promotion through the Fourth Division play-offs before leaving football management in 1991.

Soccer has been Dave Smith's life, and now, with Dave Smith's Soccer Teach-In, he is putting a lot back into the game at "grass roots" level. Since the Teach-Ins started in 1991 he has inspired and coached literally thousands of youngsters in the region. With inspiration and coaching of this quality, the future of the game at "grass roots" level looks remarkably bright.

			P	W	D	L
	Mansfield Town	1974-76	99	46	31	22
	Southend United	1976-83	326	132	92	102
	Plymouth Argyle	1984-88	184	78	43	63
	Dundee	1988-89	40	11	10	19
	Torquay United	1989-91	90	34	31	25
	TOTAL		739	301	207	231