Biography

Mark Smith is one of Nova Scotia’s best athletes. His softball career spanned more than 20 years, and he was considered one of the top pitchers/players in the world. He has been recognized as a Top 10 Male Athlete of the Century for Nova Scotia and one of Nova Scotia’s Top 15 greatest athletes. Mark has been inducted into the Nova Scotia Sports Hall of Fame, the Canadian Softball Hall of Fame, and the International Softball Congress Hall of Fame as a player, and into the World Baseball Softball Confederation Hall of Fame as a coach. He is a two-time recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal and the King Charles III Coronation Medal for contributions to Canada, Nova Scotia and community.

His international coaching career with Softball Canada spanned a quarter-century. He led three of Canada’s four national team programs to 19 podium finishes in 22 international events, including multiple gold medals at the Pan-American Games coaching the men’s and women’s senior teams. His coaching career concluded with a bronze medal at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.

Mark served as the Director of Sport Development for Sport Nova Scotia and Director of Coaching for the Canadian Sport Institute Atlantic. In 2020, he and his wife Ann Dodge (’91) created the Black and Indigenous Coach Mentorship program to serve racialized groups, ensuring safe spaces to learn, grow and develop coaching and leadership skills in the Black and Indigenous communities.