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The perfect pair: Brothers on road to NCAA Championship

Adam Smith stands at the Religh Relays on March 27 before his event.
Adam Smith stands at the Religh Relays on March 27 before his event.

In the back of the throwing circle, Adam Smith prepares for his waltz.

His partner, a 22-centimeter discus weighing 2.2 kilograms, rests comfortably between his fingertips and the heel of his palm. The pair has been dancing for nearly eight years now, despite their frequent separation. Now, they are one month away from the greatest dance of all: the first round of the NCAA National Championship.

Behind him, assistant throws coach Ryan Smith watches closely, his iPhone 11 tangled in the back net to record Adam’s performance for further analysis. Three of Adam’s teammates, including sophomore Sharron Kagan, sit behind the throwing circle.

Ryan offers no last-minute coaching advice; he trusts every step of Adam’s process before releasing his discus.

After all, they are brothers.

Adam begins facing the rear of the throwing circle. He swings the discus forward three times, outward once, then takes the first step of his fluid yet highly technical dance. One-and-a-half rotations, building speed, he propels the discus high into the sky. The momentum of the move causes Adam to complete another rotation even after the discus is released, gracefully spinning on his left foot to release energy.

“I love how patient you were with the right side, but not perfect,” Ryan says, leaning against the net. “But you didn’t pull left and [release] the discus right.”

The throws practice on April 24 marked less than two months from the NCAA outdoor track and field championships. Between now and then, the Miami University track and field team has two more meets and the MAC championship, taking place May 15-17 at Ohio University.

On the 75-degree, partly cloudy day, Adam said he is confident about the upcoming challenges. He currently ranks No. 43 in the NCAA East before the NCAA Regional Championship, taking place May 28-31 at the University of North Florida.

To remain qualified for the first round of the NCAA Championship, Adam must rank in the top 48 of discus throwers in the East by May 21 His best throw, 53.56 meters at the Blizzard Buster in Oxford on March 21, qualified him for the NCAA Regional Championship, creating the possibility of performing one last time following graduation this spring.

However, his best throw of the season does not guarantee him a spot in the NCAA National Championship, taking place June 11-14 at the University of Oregon.

“It’s all about who shows up to perform [at Regionals],” Adam said. “Even the best throwers can have a bad day and get knocked out of the running.”

Adam started his track and field career in middle school, specializing in the 800-meter dash. However, his body suffered under the constant strain of running, so he took up throwing, following after his brother.

“Every kid wants to be like his big brother, right?” Adam said. “I saw what he was doing, and the passion he had, and I decided to try throwing.”

Ryan began helping Adam his freshman year of high school, and the pair spent one year throwing together at Archbishop Moeller High School. Ryan was the first to set his sights on becoming a RedHawk athlete: He jived well with head coach Steve Manz, who ultimately made his decision to attend Miami in 2018 feel natural.

Even when Ryan was away at college, he would still coach Adam over the phone on how to improve his throw.

A few years after Ryan began his career in the Red and White, Adam made his debut on the team in 2021. The brothers were teammates for two years before Ryan graduated with a master’s degree in sport leadership and management from Miami and entered into the role as assistant throws coach shortly after.

“It’s a long-standing family tradition of being here at Miami,” Adam said. “I’d been hearing Ryan speak so highly of [coach Manz] for so long … and I got very fortunate to be offered a roster spot by him. After that, there was no looking back.”

During his time at Miami, Ryan set four top 10 all-time school records, one in each of the four throwing events: shot put, hammer, javelin and discus. Because of this, Ryan assumed the role of assistant throws coach before the 2024 season, shortly after Manz retired and was replaced by Sandy Moran in 2023, during Ryan’s final year on the team.

“Part of [coaching] is like, living vicariously through the athletes,” Ryan said. “I get an insane thrill from throwing PRs [myself], and I get a very similar … [thrill] to actively coach someone else to a PR of their own.”

Similar to Adam, Ryan participated in the first round of the NCAA National Championship in 2022, also throwing the discus. Because of this experience, Adam said Ryan has a better understanding of how to coach him for the championship.

Despite his recent successes, Adam has not had a perfect collegiate track and field experience. After tearing an intervertebral disc in his back during a weightlifting session early in his first season, Adam redshirted most of his first year. Despite this injury, Adam never let it set him back, and he has continuously returned to the team as one of the RedHawks’ strongest discus throwers.

“Adam has shown me that you can have a million setbacks and still have a positive outlook and come back from it,” Kagan said.

Following Adam’s graduation in the spring, Ryan said he will continue coaching throws for close to the rest of his life. For Adam, he said he looks forward to graduate school, but has not yet decided where. Before then, the pair has a lot of work to do.

“One or two more throws today,” Ryan said, rewatching Adam’s last throw on his phone.

Adam approached the throwing circle like a dancer would his final bow. With a few wide swings and a momentary pause, Adam fell back into the recognizable pattern of his well-rehearsed waltz, and he released the discus one last time for the day.

patelou@miamioh.edu

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