Radio host Greg Smith returns to Phoenix with a message of inner strength as “The Strength Coach.”

• Former host of “Cardinal Talk” and “On A Roll” teams up with motivational speaker Kate Adamson to address public at North Phoenix Baptist Church Thursday, April 22, at 7 p.m.
• Donations benefit Arizona Bridge to Independent Living

PHOENIX, Ariz. – For 11 years, Greg Smith, host and founder of the nationally syndicated “On A Roll – Talk Radio on Life & Disability” has inspired and motivated people with disabilities across America with his weekly Sunday evening radio program. Prior to that, he comforted football fans in the Valley of the Sun as host of “Cardinal Talk” on KTAR for three seasons. In 1997, the ASU grad left the Phoenix area to enlist the help of his parents in raising his three children in Ohio.

Smith, now a sought-after motivational speaker, will return to Phoenix to deliver his expertise on Inner Strength as “The Strength Coach” Thursday, April 22, from 7-9 p.m. at North Phoenix Baptist Church, 5757 North Central Ave. His entertaining message combines his experiences with muscular dystrophy and his insight as a sportscaster and sports enthusiast. On the platform, wearing a coach’s cap and a whistle, he demands attention from his audience as if they are players in his locker room. He preaches that we can all gain inner strength by lifting the weights of life’s challenges.

Smith will share the platform with motivational speaker and author Kate Adamson from Los Angeles. Adamson was a vibrant healthy mother of two when at the age of 33, she experienced a double brain-stem stroke. Much like the nationally known case of Terri Schiavo in Tampa, Fla., she was trapped in her body, unable to move, but able to hear and understand everything. Her story of inner strength is captured in her book, “Kate’s Journey,” and she will bring her message of triumph over challenges as the opening speaker.

Smith’s life and career has been chronicled in an award-winning documentary film, “On A Roll,” which will air nationally on public television within the next year. The 45-minute film, produced by Joanne Caputo, will be screened as part of this event.

Smith, born with muscular dystrophy, uses an electric wheelchair and weighs only 65 pounds. While his severely limited physical strength is gradually declining due to his condition, his accomplishments in life shine a spotlight on his area of expertise and the value he brings to his audiences: the way to build inner strength by lifting the weights of life’s challenges.

After resigning from Phoenix’s KTAR Radio in 1992, where he was an integral part of the marketing department and host of the NFL “Cardinal Talk” show on the Arizona Cardinals Radio Network, he followed a passion to empower people with disabilities and raise general awareness about America’s largest minority group. Fast forward 11 years: Mission accomplished. His beard is a little grayer, but his smile is just as wide. “The Strength Coach Radio Show” made its debut in January 2004 and airs locally in the Vally on KXAM 1310 AM Sundays at 9 p.m.

“I am so proud to be a member of America’s strongest community, the disability community, and I look forward to teaching what I have learned about inner strength to a mainstream audience,” says Smith. “I’m also excited to put my career back into the world of sports.”

The name “Strength Coach” comes from Smith's love for football, where the strength coach is the “in-your-face” motivator who encourages athletes to lift weights and increase their conditioning, power and endurance. Greg draws a great deal of inspiration from great athletes and their desire to be victorious. He was born the son of a high school football coach who always made analogies between football and life. So the “Strength Coach” message has a distinct, sports “swagger” to it. Yet it is entertaining and empowering for sports “dummies” as well.

Both Adamson and Smith are professional members of the Tempe-based National Speakers Association (http://www.nsaspeaker.org). In 2003, Smith logged more than 50,000 miles delivering motivational and entertaining keynote speeches, workshops and educational seminars.