Rhode Island FC Head Coach Khano Smith shares Bermuda roots, his path to the sidelines

(WJAR) — Who is Rhode Island FC Head Coach Khano Smith?

“I think to my core little boy from Bermuda, a small island. Still very much connected to my family, all my families there. Really close to his family. Really close to his mom. I have a daughter, she’s 20. Have a dog. I love dogs. Love soccer. Soccer is my hobby and my job.

At 6’5. The 45-year old’s mom is still the towering force in his life. He recalls a story of him as a young student back home.

Rhode Island FC Head Coach Khano Smith spoke with NBC 10’s Dan Jaehnig. (WJAR)

“My grades were dropping and my mom was trying to figure out a solution. She tried everything. She sat in class with me one day.”

At age 14 she sent her son from the warmth of Bermuda to a boarding school in Maine.

“Yeah, I was probably a terrible 14-year-old. That was the only time I didn’t call my mom on her birthday because I was still upset.”

But mother knows best.

“Yeah, it was the best thing she could have done for me. It taught me to grow up quickly. It taught me to be independent.”

Then to North Carolina for college playing soccer. After two successful seasons in Bermuda, he played for the New England Revs, then in 2023 the head coach and general manager of Rhode Island football club. The pressure is there.

“Yeah, but then you need to realize how fortunate you are and stick to the long term and for me you just need to stay grounded and stay in the middle. Never get too high and never get too low.”

He’s passionate about the game, the club and connects with his players. He has been there. He is hard on himself still.

“The goal of chasing perfection, like I know you can never achieve it, but you can always just chase it.

Off the field the single 45-year-old father of a 21-year-old who lives with her mom in Bermuda is challenged with the lack of time to do it all. He prefers to be single and spend time with his dog.

When he is not watching soccer, “Dances with Wolves” is his favorite movie.

“He is with a group of people that he becomes friends with and becomes friends with a dog. And then he ends up becoming one of those people. I think it was probably at the time impressionable in my life.”

Michael Jordan is his favorite athlete because of his mindset.

When you sit and talk with him you learn that Khano Smith is self-aware. He knows who he is. A little boy from Bermuda who is following his dream.

When asked about what that little boy would think of him now.

“I think, I think he would admire me. I think he would be yeah, I wanted to do that and I think I’ve been fortunate.”