Editor’s note: This is a regular feature profiling senior athletes at Bryant High School.
Ross Smith
NAME: Ross Smith
PARENTS: Caroline Carter and Charles Smith
SIBLINGS: I have an older sister, a younger sister and an older brother that passed away at 18.
FAVORITE SUBJECT IN SCHOOL: Math
FAVORITE SPARE TIME ACTIVITY: Wrestle
FAVORITE FOOD: Chinese, I guess; anything that doesn’t get me over-weight, really.
FAVORITE MUSIC ARTIST OR GROUP: I listen to anything, country, rap.
FAVORITE MOVIE: I don’t have a specific movie. I like motivational movies.
FAVORITE TV SHOW: Walking Dead
WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE TOY AS A KID? I had a stuffed animal when was like 4 that I still have to this day. I’ve always been out-doorsy so I never messed with a bunch of technology.
WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS AFTER HIGH SCHOOL? I plan to either get a wrestling scholarship or just go to UCA or the military. I’d like to be a veterinarian.
OTHER THAN YOUR PARENTS, WHO’S HAD THE BIGGEST INFLUENCE ON YOUR LIFE? HOW? Probably, Ben Freeman. He taught me everything I know about wrestling. He’s helped me a lot through high school and the best friend I’ve ever had really.
WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE THING ABOUT WRESTLING? It’s a really disciplined sport. It game me a passion that I didn’t have with any other sport. I’ve been through a lot of sports. Size has always been an obstacle for me and when I started wrestling I knew size wasn’t an obstacle. If you want to try it, then try it and if you’re motivated . . . I’ve always loved how freely you can join the sport and do whatever you put your mind to in the sport.
WHAT’S YOUR WEIGHT CLASS? 126 pounds
WHAT’S YOUR APPROACH TO A MATCH? Go in just like I’d wrestle anybody else. Go in like I can beat anybody I need to. I don’t really make it too complicated in my mind. I don’t scare myself. I just go into it and do it.
WHAT’S BEEN THE HIGHLIGHT TO THE SEASON SO FAR? I got first in a tournament for the first time this year. I haven’t done as great as I did my sophomore year because I screwed up my knee. But really my highlight in wrestling would be when I got sixth in the State my first year. I plan on getting higher than that this year. I want to win first in State.
WHAT’S IT GOING TO TAKE FOR THE TEAM TO BE SUCCESSFUL THE REST OF THE SEASON? Teamwork, trusting each other really, get into each other’s heads and know each other and not get frustrated when somebody does something wrong. We just need to look at firing up each other.
WHAT ARE YOU MOST CONFIDENT IN YOUR ABILITY TO DO? Scramble. I’m really good at staying off my back. I’m a hard fighter. That’s what I’ve been told. I just don’t like to be beat.
WHAT DO YOU WORK HARDEST TO IMPROVE ON IN PRACTICE? Since I injured by knee I’ve been working hardest to improve wrestling on my — I’ve had to switch my whole thing up and instead of wrestling right-legged, I’ve had to start wrestling left-legged since I hurt me knee. It’s a big thing from going right-legged to ambidextrous. It makes it a little bit harder but that’s what I’ve been working on recently.
WHEN YOU’RE THROUGH WRESTLING AT BRYANT HIGH SCHOOL, WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’LL LOOK BACK AND REMEMBER MOST FONDLY ABOUT THE EXPERIENCE? All the fun times that we had. I just hope that I can look back and not regret anything. That’s why I plan to go through this year without letting my knee stop me. I want to be able, when I’m older, to look back and not regret anything, not regret missing anything. I just want to be able to say I had a good team and was able to succeed the way I wanted to.
