| My name is Harrison Smith and I was born and raised in Las Vegas, NV. I’m a 14-year old Freshman at Bishop Gorman High School, and I wrestle for Gold Rush Wrestling Academy. I have an older sister, Sophie, who is a Senior in high school and currently studying in Tokyo, Japan. I’m honored to be chosen as NVSportsLocal Athlete of the Month. |
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| Growing up, I’ve always been active in sports. When I was two years old, my parents signed me up for a local indoor ‘soccer club’. That was the beginning of my athletic journey. I spent an hour every weekend jumping over hoops and kicking balloons and bubbles. Combat Sports and Martial Arts have always caught my attention because of my mom’s last name, Hattori. (Hattori Hanzo was a famous Ninja). I started wrestling when I was eight at Meadows School, when two parents, Coach Pat Ramsey and Coach Frank Mir, decided to start a wrestling club. It was something I would do to stay active during my soccer off-season. We only wrestled twice a week for four months, but I was hooked. I looked forward to every November for my first wrestling practice. |
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| Around the same time I started wrestling, I switched over from a local recreational soccer team to a club soccer, Las Vegas Sports Academy. When I first joined the team, I couldn’t keep up with my teammates. They were all in shape, running full-speed for the entire 90 min practice. I was embarrassed and knew I had to do something to improve my endurance. I started running with my mom three times a week. We ran three miles before school twice a week and every Sunday morning, we would run nine miles, sometimes up to eleven miles. The first few months were brutal, but my mom kept it interesting by telling me stories and rewarding me with Starbucks half way through the run. I remember planting wild flower seeds in random places and etching our names in freshly poured concrete sidewalk slabs during our runs. |
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| After a few months, my soccer coach started to notice a huge improvement in my athletic performance. I ran Fifteen miles every week for the next 2.5 years, until I had to stop due to Osgood Schlatter (an overuse injury common in adolescent growth spurts). Just when my knees were starting to get better in 5th grade, Covid shut down everything. The first few months, I was home playing video games, snacking all day, anxious to go outside and be active. My mom found out about a new wrestling club, Gold Rush, that was opening up in town and put my name on the inquiry wait list. A few months later, Coach Chase Pami contacted my dad, and we started attending the club. |
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| My first year at Gold Rush was quite a change from what I was used to. Although I had wrestled for the past three years and did well, I was inexperienced compared to other kids who dedicated years to the sport. It was a humbling experience. My dad would take me to private lessons on weekends to catch up. During one of my weekend group lessons, I tore my MCL and Meniscus and had to sit out for six months. 7th grade started off rocky due to my injury, but I stayed focused on getting better every day. |
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| Towards the end of 7th grade, I won the Nevada State Championship in Freestyle. A few weeks later, I placed at Reno Worlds, one of the toughest youth tournaments. These gave me much needed confidence, but I was hungry for more. I didn’t want to stop there. I started brainstorming of things I could do during the off-season to get better. That summer, I attended camps at Stanford and Iowa. I started watching college wrestling and immersed myself in the sport. Since that summer, my goal has been to wrestle at a top D1 school. |
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| Wrestling has become my lifestyle the past few years. My recent success at NV State Championships and USA Wrestling’s Western Regional Championships, where I won both Freestyle and Greco, is just the beginning. High school wrestling will be a whole new different level of competition, but I’m excited and ready for the challenge. Last month, I stepped away from competitive club soccer to focus full time in wrestling. It wasn’t an easy decision for me, but I knew if I wanted to be one of the top wrestlers in the country, I needed to step up my game. The high school season just began, and I’m excited to be working with my new coaches, Tyler Perry, Mark Dickman, Chris Gorden and Elias Aguilar at Bishop Gorman. |
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| I’m very grateful for my coaches at Gold Rush, Chase Pami, Max Rohskopf, Ed Sorgani, Jake Rollans and AJ Guardado for believing in me. They have all been my role models, and I cannot thank them enough for their support and always challenging me to do better. My very first coach, Pat Ramsey, still to this day gives me valuable advice. Thank you Coach Ramsey for introducing me to the sport. Lastly, I’m thankful for the never ending support I receive daily from my family to help me pursue my dreams. Special thank you to my sister, who’s been so understanding of my hectic schedule. My parents were always away taking me to practices and tournaments and she sacrificed a lot for me. |
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