Drs. Watson and Bellisari care for Mansfield star athlete – Richland Source News

MANSFIELD — His body has been battered and broken, but Ryan Smith’s faith has never been stronger.

God has a plan for him. Smith is sure of it.

That the path laid before him has been littered with roadblocks and detours is of little consequence to Smith, a senior captain for Mansfield Christian.

“God gives us these tests because He knows we can handle them,” said Smith, whose star-crossed athletic career has been derailed by season-ending injuries each of the past three years. “We shouldn’t shy away from them because we are scared or because it hurts too much.

“Be thankful for adversity because that is when you see the most personal growth.”

Rising Star

The older of Joy and Cy Smith’s two children, Ryan was a natural athlete. He starred on his youth soccer and baseball teams, but basketball was his true love.

“Ryan excelled at all sports early on,” said Cy, a 1987 MCS graduate and the school’s superintendent for the past seven years. “He was a natural leader and a difference maker on the field and the court, even at an early age.”

What set Smith apart from his peers was his drive. He spent countless hours in the gym refining his game.

“I wouldn’t call him a gym rat because he played multiple sports, but he was fully focused on whatever sport he was participating in,” Cy said. “He is a tireless worker. Whether he was playing basketball or soccer or baseball, he was all-in.”

Smith and Ashland’s Isaac White, who recently became the Arrows’ career scoring leader, have been friends for as long as either can remember. They came up playing AAU basketball together and their fathers — White’s dad, Matt, is a former head coach at South Central and a volunteer assistant at Ashland— are longtime friends.

“Ryan is one of the hardest workers I’ve ever known and easily one of the toughest people I know,” Isaac White said. “He has such strong convictions. He has been through so much adversity already and his faith has never wavered.”

Cy Smith and Matt White made it a point to school their sons in more than just basketball. They would take them to camps and on road trips to games and talk about life off the court.

“We were intentional with the boys,” Cy said. “‘How do you lead?’ ‘How do you be a man?’ Those are the questions we asked them. We stressed to them the importance of responsibility and accountability.

“I think it has served both of them well as they have gone down different paths.”

Veteran coach John Kurtz inherited the Mansfield Christian job from Mike Chitty in 2011, Smith’s freshman year. A basketball lifer whose 20-plus years on the bench include successful stops at Temple Christian and Crestview, Kurtz knew immediately what he had.

“He was not only a very talented kid, he understood the game,” Kurtz said. “He was a very smart player. It was like having an extension of the coaching staff on the floor.

“He came in and started for us right away. We couldn’t keep him off the floor.”

The 6-foot Smith was averaging more than 15 points a game during the first half of the 2011-12 season.

“We got off to a slow start that year,” Kurtz said, “but we were really starting to get things going.”

Sidelined

Smith’s freshman season came to an end on Jan. 24, 2012. He took a knee to the back while diving for a loose ball in a 67-60 loss at Northmor, fracturing two transverse processes in his lower back. Transverse processes are structures that extend away from the main body of each vertebra and serve as connection points for muscles and ligaments. The injury is the same one suffered by NFL quarterbacks Tony Romo and Cam Newton.

“It didn’t require surgery, but Ryan had to wear a brace and his mobility was limited,” Cy said. “He missed the second half of the season and the tournaments but was able to play AAU ball later that spring.”

Back to Action

Fully healed, Smith returned in time for his sophomore soccer season. He scored six goals on a team that advanced to the regional championship game before falling to Toledo Ottawa Hills.

The momentum carried over into basketball season. With Smith leading the charge — he again averaged more than 15 points a game — the Flames won nine of their first 11 games of the 2012-13 season before misfortune struck almost a year to the day after his first injury. Smith tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in a game against Mohawk on Jan. 19, 2013.

Surgery was performed by Dr. Larry Watson at Orthopedic One in Columbus. A portion of Smith’s hamstring was used to repair the damage.

“The surgeons thought a hamstring graft would work best because of how young I was,” Smith said. “They saw more room for growth.”

Months of rehab followed. Smith worked with physical therapist Kim Brown at Summit Therapy and Performance.

“Some kids who suffer these kinds of injuries will come to us, but they don’t always want to do the work,” Brown said. “Every day I knew I was getting 100 percent of Ryan’s effort. He did everything I asked of him when he was in the clinic and I never questioned if he was doing what he should when he left the clinic.”

Triumph and Tragedy

Smith’s diligence paid off. Eight months after reconstructive knee surgery, he was back on the soccer field as Mansfield Christian embarked on magical postseason run to the Division III state championship game.

Smith would never see the field in the 2-1 loss to Summit Country Day on that early November evening, however, as the unthinkable happened on Oct. 26, 2013 in Mansfield Christian’s 2-0 win over Liberty-Benton in the district championship game in Tiffin.

“I was just making a move and the knee buckled again,” Smith said. “I knew right away.”

The damage in Smith’s right knee was far more extensive. He ruptured the surgically repaired ACL, along with the lateral collateral ligament (LCL) and the meniscus, a rubbery disc that cushions the knee.

“Seeing him there, it is a parent’s worst nightmare. It was devastating,” Cy Smith said. “Ryan wanted to get back to soccer because he knew how good the team was going to be. Joy and I were nervous, but the doctors had given us their approval.”

Smith’s absence was felt immediately. The midfielder was a calming influence for the Flames.

“After he went down in the district finals, you could tell something was missing,” said soccer and basketball teammate Brandon Mount. “The chemistry wasn’t the same.”

Surgery was performed in mid-November of 2013, about two weeks after the state championship game, by Watson and Dr. Greg Bellisari, the former Ohio State and Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker, This time, ligaments from two cadavers were used to rebuild the knee.

Twelve months of rehab followed.

Smith could only watch last fall as the Flames finished what they started, winning the Division III state championship in soccer with a thrilling 4-3 overtime victory over Grandview Heights.

“I was still part of the team. I went to all the practices and games, but I was unable to play,” Smith said. “It was hard, but it was also exciting because we were so close as a team.”

MCS raised its 2014 state championship banner during a ceremony before a recent basketball game.

“Had Ryan been able to play against Country Day (in the 2013 final), I have no doubt we would have won a state championship last year,” MCS soccer coach Stephen Armstrong said, “and we would have had an easier time of it this year.”

Trying Times

For Ryan Smith, rehabilitating his knee for a second time in two years was the easy part. Rehabilitating a wounded spirit was more challenging.

“It’s been a lot harder mentally than physically,” he said, “especially because of the extended period of time it has covered.”

As for Smith’s teammates, they marvel at his resolve. Smith was voted a captain of the basketball team this winter despite sitting out portions of his freshman and sophomore seasons and his entire junior year.

“I don’t know if I could do it. It would be so hard both mentally and physically,” said Stevie Brown, a soccer and basketball teammate. “It’s crazy to me to think he still wants to play. I know a lot of people who would have given up.

“He may never be as quick or mobile as he used to be, but he is a great leader and a smart player. That is why we voted him captain.”

Back to Work

Missing his senior soccer season was trying, but Smith had a plan. He wanted to be healthy for basketball season. Preseason camp was uneventful and as the season opener against Crestview approached, Smith felt as strong as he had in years. In his first action in almost two years, he scored 19 points in a 63-50 win over the Cougars.

“I felt great in our first and second games, but then I re-aggravated my knee in our third game against Danville,” Smith said. “I had to sit out two weeks, but I came back against Plymouth (on Jan. 10) and played the following game against Loudonville.”

Midway through the first half of a game against crosstown rival St. Peter’s on Jan. 16, Smith crashed to the floor underneath the basket. He tweaked the knee again and hasn’t played since. He hopes to return against Loudonville on Friday and would like nothing more than to finish out the season and play in the tournament.

In four years of basketball, Smith has played in 29 of 85 games and has never played in the postseason.

“He has spent more time at Summit Therapy than on the basketball court. He has lived out there,” Cy Smith said. “He was in therapy for eight months the first time he hurt his knee and 12 months the second time. Between that and his back injury as a freshman, he has been in rehab for about 24 months.”

Silver Lining

The way Ryan Smith sees it, God has been revealing His plan since that fateful night at Northmor midway through his freshman year.

“I’ve always prayed since I was a young kid that God would show me where He wants me to be,” Smith said. “During all my time in physical therapy, I’ve developed a great appreciation for the guys who help out athletes and people. It’s a really personal career choice.

“That’s what I want to do after high school. I’m going to attend Cedarville University to study allied health, which will take me on to a doctorate in physical therapy.”

Kim Brown has no doubt Smith is making the right choice.

“Ryan will be a phenomenal therapist,” said Brown, a 1994 Lexington graduate whose athletic career was cut short by knee injuries. “I’ve been through it myself. If you go through rehab as a patient, you have better insight as a clinician.”

Through it all, Smith has never felt sorry for himself. He wouldn’t expect anyone else to, either.

“I’ve never asked, ‘Why me?’ ” he said. “I ask, ‘What am I going to do because this has happened? Where am I going to go from here?’

“I think that is the question that needs to be asked: Not ‘Why me?’ but ‘What will I do next?’ “

Richland Source News

Curt Conrad, Staff Reporter

Posted on Feb 11, 2015 by Curt Conrad