Saint sue: Breckenridge basketball icon continues to serve

Player, coach, educator, and st. mary's stabilizing force

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• By Robert Wanek

​Whether it’s her spiked hair or that signature jumpsuit, Sue Smith is a noticeable figure in the Breckenridge community. A vocal coach, a member of the North Dakota State College of Science Hall of Fame, and a veteran educator— Smith has remained an integral part of the sports community for the latter part of three decades. Her sharp contrast between friendly candor and competitive conquest comes at the flip of a switch for the former basketball star, as she continues to put her passion on display for area youth.

“I was once given the nickname Susie Knight,” Smith joked about a comparison to flamboyant coaching legend Bob Knight. “I never really tossed a chair, but I must say I may have done some tumbling acts on the sideline. I did steal the ball from a player one time and shot it at our basket. Not one of my prouder moments but we sure laugh about it now.”

Aside from Sue’s intensity, she’s a caring individual and a role model for area youth. Smith is the athletic director at St. Mary’s Catholic School, which has long been a pipeline for talented Breckenridge basketball players. The program’s most notable names had roots playing for Smith in their early days. Players like Noah Christensen, Nate Lorenz, Joe Terfehr, and Grace Conzemius donned a blue and white Saints uniform under Sue’s tutelage far before they dunked the basketball or won section titles.

The men’s and women’s all-time scoring leaders at Breckenridge High School is a list littered with Smith’s students. What exactly makes St. Mary’s a breeding ground for successful athletes and individuals?

“Working on the basic fundamentals and playing the game the right way,” a simple formula according to Smith, who spoke more of her former athletes than she did of her own pedigree.

Smith seen taking a jump shot during the early 1980s

Smith often coaches during youth tournaments at Breckenridge High School. She coaches for both St. Mary's and the public school.

A letter written to Sue from Brooke Busse.

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A letter written to Sue from Jack Johnson dated 2011.

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Smith has been the athletic director at St. Mary’s for over 30 years, and been around the game even longer. The 1981 Breckenridge graduate scored over 1,000 career points at a time where women played with a men’s ball, games were only 32 minutes long, seasons were 18 games, and there was no three-point line.

She went on to dominate at NDSCS, graduating in 1983 after an illustrious career participating in basketball, track and field, tennis and volleyball. Smith was a 2x all-conference selection in basketball and volleyball and was inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame in 2011. She had been asked several times previously, but felt she should be out of the game for a longer period of time before consideration. Her track and field team also won a region championship during her time at the Wahpeton based college.

Smith was one of North Dakota State University’s first JUCO transfer targets. She spent one redshirt season with the Bison basketball team, before settling down in Breckenridge and starting a family of her own. Sue has five children — Lindsay, Savannah, Ethan, Blaze, and Daymon. All of them have participated in the sport of basketball at some level and have continued to help officiate and work youth events. Sue recently coached a seventh grade game in which her grandson, Jackson, drilled a three-pointer to pull ahead late in a 40-36 double-overtime win. Her coaching counterpart on that junior high team? Noah Christensen, another St. Mary’s product.

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A picture drawn for Sue by Easton Erbes dated 2005.

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Smith stressed that the involvement of former players in the program is very important to her.

​“I invite them to come to whatever practices they want. I remember Nate (Lorenz) coming over to my girls practices, shooting on the side, putting the extra time in,” Smith said. “They would be in the gym whenever I open it for them. Anthony and Grace Conzemius, Jude Held, Cooper (Yaggie), Jack Johnson — they come by frequently even when they get to high school. I could go into my phone and there would be texts from Jude looking to get in the gym pretty often.”

Smith usually starts her St. Mary’s students on the court in first grade, where she helps coach through the sixth grade levels alongside people like Timmy Jaehning, Jason Johnson, Bruce Yaggie, and Craig Peterson. She described Bruce as her “extra arm,” someone who helps immensely on the boys side. 

The longtime educator spent a number of years teaching physical education and now serves as a para professional in addition to her role as AD and coach. She has filled in admirably wherever she’s needed over the years as an assistant coach at NDSCS, as well as assistant and head coaching stints at Breckenridge.

As for her Knight-like story, she remembers it very well. Her antics earned her a technical foul from referee Roy King. 

Sue and Lindsay Smith having fun at the Rotary All-Stars Game.

Joey Johnson calls Sue the "Best Coach" in this 4th grade writing.

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“One of my girls kept dribbling the ball to the right corner. We came out of a timeout, probably the third one I’d called, and she got the ball stolen from her,” Smith recalled. “The defender dribbled up the left sideline and I whacked it out of her hand and shot it at our own hoop. I was more mad because I only hit the rim with the shot than I was about the technical.”

Over the years Sue has noticed an increase in players criticizing officials, something she dissuades her teams from doing.

“I try to teach them not to talk to officials, as hard is that is nowadays,” Smith said. “If I think it’s something that should be questioned that’s my job as the coach to take care of that, and try to keep the kids from talking to officials.”

She believes the rise in player interaction with officials coincides with the 3-on-3 “Call your own foul” era of basketball, where things that weren’t always fouls in that backyard setting, certainly are in school sanctioned hoops. The same could be said for the contrast in calls between AAU and high school league activities.

“In the early years of 3-on-3 you reffed your own games. Coaches could come along but it had to be all player run, no officials,” Smith said. “I remember the Gus Macker tournaments in Fargo, you’d play in the parking lot of West Acres Mall and you’d come out of there with shredded knees. You couldn’t say ‘No blood no foul,’ because there was a lot of blood.”

When Smith coaches or officiates she has a simple fix for the contrast in styles — play with your feet. The disciplined coach instructs players to keep their hands back and work their butts off for defensive stops. Hard work has certainly gotten Smith to this point in her career, and she hopes to steer youth in the same direction.

I’ll leave you with this, a St. Mary’s monthly newsletter from March 2008, where principal Linda Johnson describes Smith’s service with the school.

“Our young athletes worked hard and were committed to their team through dedicated practice and teamwork on the court during games. This doesn’t just happen. It takes a coach who is passionate not only about teaching the fundamentals of each sport, but also the life lessons about how to work as a team, how to accept praise and criticism, how to win or lose with dignity, and how to be respectful to others. Sue Smith, as our athletic director and head coach, has been this driving force. She has a passion for sports and she loves her faith. She brings the mission of our school to the playing floor and our students are better people for having had her as their coach. Thank you, Sue.”