Dean Smith is one of the most well respected men in athletics. And that's not just because of 36 years of success with men's basketball at the University of North Carolina. It has as much to do with the way in which he operated the program and treated his players.

It's amazing to see just how broad Smith's influence has been, extending well beyond the basketball court and even boundaries of the United States.

Chelsea Football Club of England is one of the world's premier soccer organizations. Playing since 1905, it has one of the richest traditions of winning and most passionate followings in soccer-crazy England.

Now, Chelsea has chosen the Capital Area Soccer League in Raleigh as the starting point for plans to develop the game of soccer in this country. The club brought coaches to the Triangle for three academies or camps in the past several weeks. This is just the start of a long-term arrangement between CASL and Chelsea, which plans to proselytize in other areas of the country as well.

One of the most fascinating parts of what English coach Michael Beale discussed was how Chelsea coaches use others as examples of better coaching.

One of the main people they look to is Smith.

"For a lot of the coaches in Chelsea, we read the books by coach Dean Smith of North Carolina," Beale said. "We have his books in the office (in England). It just seems to fit. All of our coaches have read Dean Smith's books and we hold him in high regard as a leader. ...

"He has a way with people. And that is important with any coach. Personality and enthusiasm in life will get you a lot further than ability. You can have ability and a bad personality, and it will not work. If you can combine a good personality with enthusiasm and ability in whatever you do in life, you will be successful.

"Just reading his book, I would love to meet him."

Beale and other Chelsea staffers note how Smith and his former players stay in contact.

"He pushed the boundaries with his players, but he never let them down. He never fouled them. A lot can be learned from that."

There is another UNC connection with Chelsea as well. Former Carolina All-American, World Cup player and Olympian Lorrie Fair signed this year to play for the Chelsea women's team in England. She is also working as an ambassador for the game.

In fact, she had been scheduled to be at the camps at CASL, but a recent injury kept her from it.

"I was playing in a charity match a month ago, and I got hit late and tore my ACL," Fair said from England during a phone interview. "I'm in rehab."

The CASL-Chelsea-Carolina connection may fail to capture many Americans' imaginations, because relatively little is known about soccer in the United States. But Fair said the impact of the arrangement could be enormous here.

"Chelsea is like the New York Yankees or Chicago Bulls," Fair said. "They have a history of winning, and they are a massive club. They have supporters around the world. It's really a tight-knit community. The passion, the closest thing I know to compare it to is March Madness.

"But it still doesn't come close to a match atmosphere here (in England). The gist of it is that there is a passion that people grow up with, and it's real hard to explain to people in the States.

"Their grass-roots program is their desire to give back to football, or soccer as we know it," Fair said.

"We're here to develop soccer for young kids with a leading organization," Beale said.

Multiple players from East and Chapel Hill High Schools and the feeder schools have played in the CASL leagues. It was a CASL boys' team that caught Chelsea officials' eyes around Christmas last year at Disney World, where the Americans beat an amateur team Chelsea brought over from England.

"We played them in the Disney Showcase with a younger club, and they beat us," Beale said. "Right away, we're thinking: 'They produced a certain amount of players for Wake Forest, and Wake Forest becomes national champions. And they are doing that without our help."

Chelsea is one of the world's top five football programs, Beale noted, and perhaps England's top draw with fans.

"We are not going to give our brand to anyone we don't trust," he said.

The gap between the elite European youth players and Americans is great, because the best are singled out and signed early as pros.

"Here the U-18, the boys, are amateurs and are getting ready to go to college," Beale said. "Chelsea Under-18 has about 15 international players, the best players from every country. They're brought in and they are on good salary to train every day. They're treated like professional athletes. This is their life."

Beale said that he has thoroughly enjoyed his time working here with children from the Triangle.

"The kids are so respectful compared to the U.K.," Beale said. "It's unbelievable. We have enjoyed that part. I wish we could take that home and bottle it. That is how I want my kids to grow up."