Laura Smith, a science teacher and athletic trainer at Widefield High School, is being honored for saving the life of a teen athlete who collapsed during a soccer game.

But Smith is uncomfortable with being referred to as a hero. She has trouble even saying it.

“I don’t think of myself as…that,” she said. “I was just doing my job.”

Jeff Giovannone, Widefield’s athletic director, has no such problem.

“She’s definitely a hero,” Giovannone said. “(The athlete) had pretty much died on the field. She brought him back, saved his life. She’s a hero, for sure.”

The American Red Cross clearly agrees with Giovannone. On Saturday, Smith and several others will be officially honored as “Red Cross Heroes of the Year.”

“If she doesn’t deserve it, I don’t know who does,” said Giovannone, who nominated Smith for the award.

As an athletic trainer, Smith prefers to remain invisible at games, because that means things are going smoothly, with no injuries to athletes. But on Oct. 5, with a young life in the balance, she didn’t hesitate to step forward.

During the second half of a junior varsity soccer game between Widefield and Harrison High School, a Harrison player collapsed on the field for no visible reason.

“There was no contact,” said Giovannone, who was at the game. “It was odd-looking.”

When Smith saw the athlete go down, she told Giovannone to grab an automated external defibrillator out to the field.

“He was moving a little,” she recalled. “At first, I thought maybe he was having a seizure, but within less than a minute, I realized that it was something more, and I called 911.”

While Smith was on the phone with the emergency operator, the athlete stopped breathing. Smith felt for a pulse, and found none.

“It was kind of a shock,” she said. “Here was this seemingly healthy, 15-year-old kid playing soccer, and all of a sudden he goes down, he’s not breathing, and his heart stopped.”

Fortunately for the stricken teen, Smith knew exactly what to do.

Athletic trainers are required to be certified in CPR. Smith, who has been an athletic trainer for more than a decade, is also a CPR instructor who regularly teaches qualification courses. She immediately started chest compressions on the fallen player.

“That was the first time I’d ever done CPR on an actual person,” Smith said. “But I’ve been an instructor for so long that it was all muscle memory.”

While Smith did compressions, a Harrison coach performed rescue breathing. After two cycles of CPR, Smith attached and activated the AED.

“I cleared everyone away, the AED gave him a shock, and we continued doing CPR until the ambulance arrived,” she said.

By the time the emergency personnel took over, the teen had a pulse.

“CPR is something you hope you never have to use,” Smith said. “But I’m glad I knew what to do, and I’m glad we got a good result.”

When Smith followed up on the athlete’s health status, she learned that he now has an implantable defibrillator that can deliver a small shock when it detects an irregular heartbeat.

“Other than that, he’s cleared,” she said. “He’s able to go back, and play sports, and be a kid. That’s a great outcome.”

Smith said she was surprised to learn that she’d been named a Red Cross Hero of the Year for doing what she believed was her job.

“I never anticipated any of this,” Smith said. “It’s been a little overwhelming. I didn’t think it was that big a deal.”

“She’s so humble,” Giovannone said. “She doesn’t seek the spotlight, and she doesn’t brag on herself. That’s okay — we’ll do it for her.”

The Red Cross Rocky Mountain Heroes Soiree will take place on Saturday at the Denver Center for the Arts.