Monday MatChat: Brian Smith

Monday MatChat Transcript: Brian Smith

Welcome to the weekly mutigers.com moderated wrestling chat! On Monday, Nov. 5, at 3:00 p.m., Head Coach Brian Smith stopped by to answer your questions.

The chat session was the first in a season-long campaign (Monday Mat Chat) in which fans will have the opportunity to communicate with various members of the Missouri coaching staff and team.

The transcript of the chat follows below...

Mark (Columbia): Good luck this weekend! Any particular reason for scheduling back-to-back opponents from the north?

Brian Smith: Rider has three or four nationally ranked wrestlers and Hofstra has one of the toughest programs in the East. We try and compete against as many tough opponents as possible. It's also cost effective to wrestle two matches in one weekend when the teams we're competing against are an hour-and-a-half away from each other.

John, Kansas City, MO: How come you're not opening your season with duals in Kansas City or St. Louis? I thought that's what you had done the past few years.

Brian Smith: Last year we opened at Ohio State. We draw our biggest crowds in Columbia and we're averaging close to 3,000 fans at each meet. With so few home duals, we like to try and keep as many as possible in the Hearnes Center. Next year, with six to seven home duals, we're going to try and put one outside of Columbia.

Eric (Blue Springs, MO): Who do you see as your toughest opponent this year? Good luck in the season opener!

Brian Smith: We're going to face off against a lot of tough opponents. Every team in the Big 12 is ranked highly this year. Hofstra and Cornell from the East are both top-10 programs. We'll see a lot of tough opponents. It's hard to pick which one is going to be the toughest this early in the season. Hopefully, we're the toughest team.

Tom, California: Do you expect any of your true freshmen to compete this season? How's Dom Bradley doing in the room?

Brian Smith: I usually don't make a decision like that until second semester. Right now all of our freshmen are out competing in open tournaments and getting adjusted with college life and classes. Our staff will sit down at the end of the semester and evaluate each wrestler and go from there.

Kevin, Chicago: Hey Coach! Good luck this year! Can't wait to see the team at Nationals in St. Louis. How can I get good tickets?

Brian Smith: Here's the link to the

Complete Release in PDF Format

Fill this out, send it in and we'll be glad to help you get some of the best seats in the house.

George, Fairfax: I noticed that Ashtin was wrestling at 149 pounds at the Black and Gold. Is he moving up a weight class for good?

Brian Smith: Yes...he's moving up.

Dave (Boonville): Good luck with your season. You've done some great things with the program. I noticed that Ben's a volunteer coach now. What exactly does he do with the team?

Brian Smith: Ben's working with individuals and also in practice sessions teaching technique. Throughout the season he'll be taking a lot of our younger wrestlers to tournaments. He's also helping with our on campus recruiting. While he's doing all of that, he's also training for the Olympics. He just won the Clansman Tournament (freestyle) up in Canada.

Jim (KC): I have heard of your inspiring addaptations of various children's books. I was wondering if you could give me some specific examples of these motivating analogies so that I might pass them on to my young wrestlers.

Brian Smith: What I try to do for young campers, or their parents, is get them to read books about successful people. The idea is that it will motivate them. These individuals that they're reading about had to work hard to achieve their goals. There a lot of great books out there for different ages. For fifth through eight grade, I would suggest reading about Jackie Robinson or about the life of president Abraham Lincoln and how he had to persevere. Another good person to read about is Mohammad Ali.

jackson: I know its nearly impossible to replace Ben and Matt but with six returning qualifiers all with the ability to A.A. add Marable and I think you are in position to improve on last years performance. Is it possible?

Brian Smith: Our goal this season is to win the national title. Just like last season. We agree with you and feel that we have the nucleus to have a lot of point scores at the NCAA. We think we have a team that can finish higher than last year.

Moderator: Thanks to everyone for all of your questions! Be sure to check back next week as fans will have an opportunity to chat with one of Missouri's wrestlers!

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