East Meadow quarterback Trevor Smith overcame major obstacles to star on football field

The fall season of Trevor Smith’s junior year was clouded by uncertainty.

He was in and out of the hospital, unsure if he would play football again. Concerned about his future.

But the once-foggy picture is now crystal-clear. Smith, the senior starting quarterback, will lead the East Meadow football team onto its home field as the No. 4 seed entering the Nassau Conference II playoffs Friday afternoon.

It’s been two years in the making.

Smith was pulled up to the varsity the summer leading up to his sophomore year. After winning a battle  to be the starting quarterback, Smith broke the thumb on his throwing hand during East Meadow’s first preseason scrimmage. The injury required surgery and he missed the entire season.The Jets hosted a first-round playoff game in 2023 and finished 7-2.

Ahead of Smith’s junior year, Keith Lizzi was named East Meadow coach after four years as an assistant at Lynbrook and tabbed Smith as his starting quarterback.

“He has a calming presence of this quiet leadership,” Lizzi said. “He’s without a doubt the best athlete in the school. I was looking for leadership because I was new. I knew very quickly that we would be able to rally around him.”

But again, there were complications.

When Smith wasn’t training for football last summer, he was playing baseball. A shortstop and pitcher, Smith experienced some swelling in his right shoulder and a tingling feeling in his hands after games.

He  felt the same things while he was throwing in football practice. Smith’s doctor told him to ice and rest his shoulder, which was being overused. But the swelling never went away completely.

Two weeks before the Jets’ 2024 season opener, the veins in Smith’s right shoulder and pectoral muscle were protruding. Lizzi pulled Smith  from practice and sent him to Tyler Jones, East Meadow’s athletic trainer at the time.

Shortly afterward, Jones contacted Smith’s father, Matt.

“He said, ‘I’ve been monitoring Trevor all week and the swelling hasn’t gone down. If he was my kid, I would have him get a CT scan,’ ” Matt Smith said.

Smith’s mother, Beth, took him to the doctor, and an X-ray showed nothing concerning. To be safe, Smith was sent for an MRI.

That may have saved  his life.

'I'll just never forget those words'

The MRI revealed a blood clot in Smith’s right shoulder and he  immediately was taken to Winthrop Hospital in Mineola, where another MRI showed that the blood clot had spread to his lungs. He was diagnosed with thoracic outlet syndrome, which occurs when the nerves or blood vessels in the space between the collarbone and first rib are compressed.

“The doctor said, ‘You’re very lucky you brought him in when you did because [the blood clot] is hanging off and ready to drop into his heart.’ I’ll just never forget those words,” Matt Smith said.

Smith was moved to the pediatric ICU and placed on blood thinners for three months.

“I was mainly just bummed about missing another season,” Smith said. “I didn’t even really know what was going on. I was just focused on sports and if I could ever play again.”

Despite being out for the football season, Smith was named a captain of the team.

“He came to everything,” Lizzi said. “There were times when the team was feeling down and he would speak to them about how it can all be taken away from you. Getting kids to look at things from a different perspective. It was the second time the team had seen him in street clothes in practice and he never once complained. Ever.

“He would give pregame speeches. He was wearing a headset at times. He was very involved in running the scout team at practice. He was a coach.”

On Dec. 23, 2024, Smith underwent a ribectomy — surgery to remove his first rib. It was the turning point in Smith’s medical journey. He no longer needed blood thinners. The surgery didn’t require physical therapy, but he needed to take some time to recover.

“Having it done and finally having an answer to everything felt good,” Smith said. “It was just the waiting game at that point. I still stayed active, even though I wasn’t really supposed to. I still went to the gym for leg workouts and went on some runs.”

After all, the varsity baseball season was right around the corner.

His return to the diamond was hindered by the discomfort that came with the ribectomy incision on his right side.

“I had to relearn how to be comfortable throwing,” Smith said. “I remember going to hitting lessons, not doing very well and having doubts about if I’d ever be the same again. It was painful to do anything rotational for a while.”

Smith refused to let the pain stop him from playing one last baseball season with his older brother Owen, who graduated last spring. Smith didn’t feel like himself until midseason, but he still posted a .395 batting average with a .618 on-base percentage, 28 runs, 18 RBIs and 24 stolen bases.

Decisions, decisions

When the season ended, Smith had  to decide whether to give football one last shot or not play his senior season.

“I was on the verge of not playing,” Smith said. “My parents wanted me to play, but I was having thoughts in my head like, ‘Maybe God is telling you to sit this one out and football is not for you. Getting hurt two seasons in a row, maybe it’s a sign.’ ”

Smith had several voices encouraging him to play.

A conversation with East Meadow defensive coordinator Matt Castaneda helped him ease his mind about finally playing football.

His brother Owen said that he too had considered playing football his senior year but decided against it. “He told me he regrets that decision like crazy,” Smith said.

Throughout the entire ordeal, Gianna Ventura, a senior field hockey player at East Meadow and Smith’s girlfriend, made sure he kept a level head and stayed focused on his return to the field.

And he had the support of the East Meadow community.

“The community has been so amazing. It just felt like everyone was rooting for him,” Beth Smith said. “And all the trainers, football coaches, baseball coaches. They had Trevor’s best interest in mind. As parents, we felt safe with him in their hands.”

Smith  chose not to play travel baseball  last summer and focused on the football season. He wanted to prove to himself that he could make the comeback.

After winning yet another quarterback battle this summer, Smith announced his presence in the Jets’ season opener at Bellmore JFK on Sept. 13. He threw for 141 yards and a touchdown and ran for 114 yards and three scores in a 49-13 win.

“I really felt like I wasn’t the only one out there,” Smith said. “I was playing for my family. It was more than a football game.”

Now a trainer at Bellmore JFK, Jones couldn’t help but smile.

“It was amazing to see because he’s a really good kid,” he said. “That was the first time I met his dad in person. It was a really heartfelt moment.”

In seven games this season, Smith has rushed for 540 yards and six touchdowns on 69 carries and threw for 499 yards and five touchdowns to lead East Meadow (5-3) to a home playoff game.

Regardless of the outcome, Friday’s game against fifth-seeded Calhoun will be Smith’s last on his home field. Lizzi said he’ll make sure Smith takes a moment to take a look around and realize how far he’s come.

“If you told me last year that I would be in the position that I’m in right now, I really would not believe you,” Smith said. “I’m grateful just to be out there and be healthy enough to play.”