Former Severna Park SEAL Teaching Fitness

Six unknown warriors used their expert skills to carry out the complex and dangerous mission of eliminating al-Qaida leader Osama Bin Laden. The US Navy SEALS (acronym for Sea, Air and Land) carried out the historic mission within 40 minutes of tactical genius.

According to Severna Park author, fitness trainer and former Navy SEAL, Stew Smith, these men are the cream of the crop.  “I know these guys. There were no rookies on this job,” he said. “They have to train a minimum of five years to be called upon. They are the best of the best, the all-stars of an all-star sports team.”

Smith, a 1991 Naval Academy graduate, returned to the Annapolis area to teach and train at the Academy, serving as a SEAL from 1991 to 1999. He and his wife settled in Severna Park where he founded Heroes of Tomorrow, a special ops fitness preparation and training organization dedicated to fine-tuning college and high-school athletes, candidates for the FBI, police, firefighters and other protective service institutions. Work-outs are free to those looking to improve their skills.

All year long at sun-up, Smith and his trainees can be found being challenged at the or on the Baltimore Annapolis Trail.  Running, swimming, and weight-lifting are just the basics. Mental strength is learned, too. It takes a certain toughness, some of it innate, to create people who put their country first like this.  Smith wanted to make something clear:  “It’s not my job to motivate Americans to serve their country.”  That motivation comes from within.  But he makes it his job to be sure they are fit and ready if they so choose.

Talking about his own career, Smith points out that his career with the SEALS ended before terrorism struck the country. “You could have been a SEAL for 20 years, done all the training, been at the top of your game and never been called upon to actually do your job. Those were the days before 9/11 -that was peacetime.”

Since the attack on the Twin Towers, the world of warfare changed and with it, the requirements for the mentally and physically strongest and fastest to protect and serve the United States.

Smith is here to ensure that there is a new generation of our nation’s finest in the making- the “Heroes of Tomorrow.” In his down time, he travels the country giving talks on fitness, coaches several sports teams at his kids’ school () and leads a Naval Academy club, “Special Ops Team," where he trains SEALS of the future.

 “We love Stew. He’s keeping the next generation in shape to keep our country safe,” said Chris Marsala, director of the Severna Park Community Center.