The Dominant Doctor

Kevin Smith likes to "kick the crap out of kids." That's not a response you would expect from a student studying to be a doctor, but Smith is not like other students.

While students of all levels pack the library during the week to study for classes, Smith splits his time between his physical therapy clinical and the wrestling room.

Most people associate physical therapy with wrestling because of the egregious toll that wrestling takes on one's bodies, but Smith connects the two in a different reason.

By day, he fulfills the requirements of his doctorate internship in physical therapy, and by night he torques, twists, and pins opponents to the wrestling mat.

Dealing with both the demands of being a Division-1 wrestler and a doctorate student is no easy task. As a result, Smith's daily schedule is long and tedious. But that is not a deterrent for Smith, whose determination and ambition allow him to balance both.

In order to excel, Smith follows a demanding schedule. Smith wakes up early every morning to get to his clinical by 8:30 a.m. He spends the majority of his day there, trying to learn as much as he can during the eight-week period.

Perhaps the most difficult part of earning his doctorate degree is transforming from a vicious wrestler on the mat to a calm doctor that can be trusted by patients. But it was Smith's own experience with injuries while wrestling that have led him to a career where he will be helping others.

The road that Smith has taken to remain on the wrestling mat, despite some gruesome injuries, has gone through the training room, similar to the one he trains in during his clinical.

Smith first became interested in physical therapy when he broke his arm in seventh grade. In particular, the exercises that helped him return to full strength peaked his curiosity.

After breaking his arm, Smith torehis meniscus during his senior year of high school and tore his labrum while at Buffalo. Each of these injuries confirmed Smith's initial interest in the medical field.

"I figured I was in a sport that involved a lot of injuries," Smith said. "And I figured that if I could get into a profession where I could help resolve some of the injuries that I had over the years, then that would be pretty beneficial."

At noon, Smith gets an hour break from his clinical duties for lunch and at five o'clock he heads over to the wrestling room for practice. It is at this point every day that Smith transforms from a doctor into a warrior.

"In wrestling I have a different mindset, I am a competitor," Smith said. "I want to do anything that I can do to win and of course that does involve inflicting pain sometimes."

Although wrestling has been important to him, it has not made him an aggressive individual off the mat. The warrior inside of the circle is a different person outside of it. Although Smith will do whatever it takes to win when he is wrestling, he remains subdued when he is not.

Smith started wrestling at age six. He loved it immediately. It was so enjoyable because he was so successful from the beginning.

"I was good right off the get-go," Smith said. "It was fun for me and something I realized I was good at."

Because Smith spends long hours at his clinical he practices separate from most of the team. After practice, Smith heads home to relax and go to bed early so that he can wake up the next day and do it all again.

Following his two older brothers, Derrick and Dan, Smith has made a name for himself in both high school and college. Both of his brothers were successful wrestlers themselves, and their achievements set the bar for Smith.

Smith consistently competed with them on the mat and although he is very close with both of his brothers, he made it his goal to be better then they had been, Smith never competed with them directly. Instead, it was more important that he prove to himself he was better then they were.

"We don't put a lot of pressure on each other," Derrick Smith said. "I think most of his pressure is inverted. He has his own standard. He hates losing more then any person that I know and his own hatred of losing in anything probably makes him the way he is."

Smith brings the same energy and ambition that he uses on the wrestling mat to everything he does, which is important because of the demands of his daily schedule and the dedication that it takes to get through his days.

"I very rarely worry about Kevin because he's so consistent," said head wrestling coach Jim Beichner. "Occasionally when he is not feeling well there is a little concern, but I would say very little concern because he just goes out there and does his job, week in and week out."

The same hardworking attitude that he has always applied to his wrestling is now being put to use on his physical therapy studies. To match his stellar wrestling career, Smith will undoubtedly make his mark on his next challenge

Email: sports@ubspectrum.com