Growing up in San Diego with a father who was a sports anchor meant only one thing -- the topic of conversation in our house usually centered around the Padres, Chargers, Aztecs and even the Clippers. So it only made sense that I would follow in my father's footsteps and become a "Sports Anchor" myself. To live in San Diego and talk about the teams I have followed my whole life is a dream come true.

As a kid, I figured that one day I would play sports professionally. However, my body type just wouldn't let that happen. As a senior at Granite Hills High School, I was the only 135 pounder on the football team, and in the Grossmont League for that matter. Amazingly, I never got hurt, but then again, it's tough to get hurt standing on the sidelines.

I graduated college from Cal-State Northridge with a degree in Journalism. In my senior year, I won an Associated Press Award for a feature on "Sports Bars." Ironcially, that story was only worth a "B" in the classroom. Soon after graduating, I was hired at Fox Sports News in Los Angeles working as a Production Assistant. My first on air job came a year and a half later when I became Sports Director at KAWE in Bemidji, Minnesota. It was the first time in my life that I ever experienced below zero temperatures. After a year in the upper Midwest, it was off to Redding, California and KRCR where I was the Weekend Sports Anchor. From Redding, it was back to the Midwest as a Weekend Sports Anchor at WWMT in Kalamazoo, Michigan. What a job that turned out to be, as I had the chance to cover Michigan, Michigan State and Notre Dame athletics.

After four years in Michigan, my family and I had enough of the cold weather and decided it was time to return to California. In December, I was hired as the Sports Producer at KGTV.

My wife Abby and son Aden currently live in the San Carlos area and are loving it. I am big into local sports at any level, and I am always interested in a good story. I can be reached at Steve_Smith@10News.com.