Newcomer sparks record season for Harpeth soccer

Jackson Smith has made an immediate impact for Harpeth in his first season on the school's boys soccer team.

Smith, a 15-year-old freshman move-in from Pittsburgh, leads the Indians (9-0-1) with 17 goals this season.

“I’m happy to be scoring so much,” Smith said. “I’m hoping to break the school record, I have four years here to rack up as many goals as I can.”

Smith said the move to Cheatham County has been tough, but his success on the field has helped him transition.

“(Teammate) Robert (Sewell) has been helping me out a lot this season, we played on the same club team so we’ve been able to work really well together,” Smith said.

Playing soccer provides Smith a way to display his talented skills, but also to simply just be ‘one of the guys.’

“My dad passed away when I was young so I have lived with all girls… all 15 years of my life,” Smith said.

Smith joined the Indians this season after his mom recently remarried, relocating him and his two older sisters to the Nashville area.

According to coaches, Smith has fit right in with the team on the field as well as in the locker room.

“He’s molded in really well," Harpeth assistant Lou Jenkins said. "Our team started picking on him when he got here and Jackson gave it right back to them. They respected him for it and now they’ve all bonded really well."

“He’s new, but he has a lot of potential," Harpeth teammate Will Miniat said. "He’s awesome at soccer.”

With the addition of Smith to his roster, Harpeth coach Steve Wilson has explored many different tactics with his team, even allowing Smith to try his hand in goal.

With Smith as his striker, Wilson is confident his team will continue to score goals and win games.

Jackson has freed us up to doing a lot of new things. We can move guys anywhere now, because Jackson is so tough up at the top,” Wilson said.

Reach Andrew Preston at apreston@tennessean.com.