Freshman River Smith has been playing soccer for as long as he can remember and is looking forward to continuing his athletic career at Belmont.
“My older brother taught me to play, he was about five. There’s a picture of us — we’re really small — I have a ball in my hand, he has a ball in his,” said Smith.
Family is important to Smith, and that’s part of why he came to Belmont.
“I wanted to be close enough for my parents to come from Atlanta and watch the games. And I love Nashville,” he said.
Smith loves Belmont because of the close community he has found here, and he enjoys hanging out with his friends when he’s not busy with soccer.
In his time at Belmont, Smith hopes to maintain a good GPA and be a full-time starter for the Bruins by junior year.
He said playing at the college level is “a lot faster.”
“I’d say my first couple games, I wasn’t really ready for the speed, but I think I’ve become a lot more accustomed to it,” he said.
See Smith wearing No. 19 for the Bruins on Oct. 7 as the team takes on Wright State at E.S. Rose Park.