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D By TODD WILKINSON to play in the big game?" awson Smith has a mystique that precedes him. When he laces up his skates before practice at Centennial Arena, it's not uncommon for pint- sized admirers to appear in the locker room and ask, 'What's it like, Dawson, The inquiry is not nearly as easy to answer as it might seem to be. These days, the seasoned 12-year-old from Billings, Mont. — now headed toward the ripe old age of 13 — feels compelled to reply, albeit shyly, "Which big game do you mean?" Earlier this year, Smith and his Montana Thunderblades teammates came within one victory of making it to the finals of the USA Hockey National Tier II (1A) 12 & Under National Tournament in Reston, Va. That alone would be a memorable accomplishment for a group of 17 kids drawn from the ranks of Peewee teams across a huge, hockey-sparse state. But young Mr. Smith has an even bigger experience on his resume. It was a little more than one year ago that Smith and members of the Billings Big Sky Little League baseball team emerged as true Cinderellas of the diamond. Playing in South Williamsport, Pa., they were one game shy from reaching the title game in the Little League World Series. A notable consolation prize is that these boys from the Magic City were among only a few teams all season to boast a victory over the eventual global champions from Huntington Beach, Calif. Yes, it's a shop-worn expression that hockey players tend to make good overall athletes, and indeed, the divi- dends of cross training are obvious, but Smith adds fresh meaning to both, says Thunderblades' head coach Mike Hass, a veteran behind the bench whose own experience extends to the ranks of Junior hockey. What makes Smith's story all the more compelling, Hass says, is that even though the boy's all-star teams bat- tled their way into the highest echelons of youth sports in America, Smith was neither a standout nor showboat on either squad. He is, instead, a reliable workhorse; a humble, mostly soft spoken contributor; a kid that Hass describes as a "coach's player." "He's the type of competitor that you want to have on your team," Hass says. "He's willing to contribute how- ever he can to help his team win." Robbie Smith, Dawson's dad, says his son first picked up a baseball glove at around age 2 and learned to skate a year later. Dawson attended his first hockey game, a home contest involving the Junior A Billings Bulls, when he was just 6 weeks old. "He got interested in hockey watching from the stands. It wasn't long afterward that we got him enrolled in a learn-to-skate program," Robbie says. Dawson, who'll be a seventh grader in the fall, throws with his left arm but shoots pucks as a righty. On the diamond, he's slotted as a pitcher and utility infielder. He was one of only a couple of 11-year-olds to make the 2011 Little League team. With the Thunderblades, he prefers playing wing. Hass describes him as a player who digs in the corners, hustles on the back- check and gets as much satisfaction from being a playmaker as a goal scorer. The Thunderblades were 17-2-3 over the regular season, winning tournaments in Salt Lake City and Colorado Springs. During the national tourna- ment, Hass notes that Smith never showed jitters as the Thunderblades suited up against the highly-touted Omaha Junior Lancers in the opening game. "Both my baseball coach and my hockey coach said the important thing is just to go out there and have fun. If you're having fun you're more likely to win," Dawson says, not- ing that after play- ing before a packed stadium crowd in South Williamsport he knows how to remain calm. "HE'S THE TYPE OF COMPETITOR THAT YOU WANT TO HAVE ON YOUR TEAM. HE'S WILLING TO CONTRIBUTE HOWEVER HE CAN TO HELP HIS TEAM WIN." — MIKE HASS, MONTANA THUNDERBLADES HEAD COACH, TALKING ABOUT DAWSON SMITH PHOTOS COURTESY OF LITTLE LEAGUE BASEBALL INCORPORATED, SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT; ACTIONPHOTOS.COM USAHOCKEYMAGAZINE.COM SEPTEMBER.2012 33 Dawson Smith has proven himself to be a prime-time player on the ice and on the diamond.