Belle Smith Talks NCAA Tourney On ACC PM
The quest to get back to a ridiculous seventh straight National Championship game begins Sunday for BC.
The Eagles have only broken through once (2021), but have continuously knocked on the door for almost a decade. As the No. 2 overall seed, BC gets two home games - as long as they don't slip in the first one - to reach the Final Four once again.
Belle Smith was recently named the ACC Midfielder of the Year again and has been one of many veteran leaders chasing the ring one more time. Smith was on ACC PM with Kelsey Riggs and Taylor Tannenbaum on Tuesday. Here's what she had to say:
On the selection show and how the bracket unfolded
"We were excited. I always say the bracketology is one of my favorite days of the year. You never know what's going to happen and no matter what you think, it's always different. So, we're just grateful we're apart of it. There's so many great teams in these brackets this year, so we're ready to compete and we'll take whatever road they give us."
On having a first round bye
"A bye is great and we're grateful for it. But, at the same time, these teams have games on Friday and we don't. So, that's one edge they have on us, right? They're competing against other teams at the highest level. So, we have to bring that competition to practice every day. We always say 'if we're not present today, how are we going to win on a Sunday or a Friday?' So, our focus is to be present on every single practice day, compete just as hard against each other and get better. We're grateful that we have that bye and that we're playing on Sunday, but we're fighting each day to prepare for a Friday game."
On what's the most competitive thing the team does at practice
"Ya BC practices are definitely competitive and I think it's really special. It definitely gets heated sometimes, but that's part of it. We've been doing USA drill this week. We split the teams in two and we did best two-out-of-three every day, so that's getting super competitive. It's just offense and defense transition. That's a real competitive one. There's always a few bickering moments during it, but that's all part of the competition that we love and we live for here."
On playing for a program with NCAA title expectations every year
"It's great. That's why I came to BC. I wanted to be a part of this National Championship team. But, at the same time, we've been focused a lot on this year, not focusing on the past. We always say at BC - especially this year - that 'past success doesn't dictate future success.' Even going into that ACC Championship, or the ACC tournament in general, just because we won it last year, by no means does it mean you're going to win it this year. The ACC is a battle every year, we have incredible competition. But, like I said, we live for that. So, the pressure's there, we welcome the pressure, but we're staying present and staying hungry."
On what's unique about this year's team
"I think one thing is just playing for each other. We say it every year, but especially these last few weeks, we've been talking about in a game, in practice, looking to the right and left of you and thinking to yourself, 'what can I do during this play that will help the person to my right and left? How can I make it easier for them on this play?' And, I think everyone's really embodied that. I also just think buy-in. Every single person on the team buying into the mentality that I'm going to do whatever it takes to win a National Championship this year. Whether it's paying a little more attention to detail or a little more work before and after practice...or a little more sacrifice socially, mentally, physically in order to accomplish our goal."
On what feels different this season as a senior
"Every year is a little bit different. I think for us as seniors, we came in as freshman and our team won a National Championship that year. I'm very grateful for it, but I'm especially grateful for the leadership we had when I was a freshman. Becoming a leader and a senior myself - I say this for the rest of my class because they're incredible leaders as well - you get to senior year and you want to do the same for the underclassmen. It's a little more special I think when you're a senior and it's your team. We're excited to do it. We kind of created the culture we want here this year to bring the team a National Championship and to do it our way with our culture."
On what drives her more, winning or losing in the title game
"That's a tough question. I think both. I think both are such high emotions. Like I said, winning it my freshman year was an honor and I'm grateful for the leaders. I had. But, then again, I lost it the last two years, so that puts a fire under your butt and makes you want to work even harder. So, even this season, there's so many upsets going on, you can't take one day for granted. I think the same applies, not just losing a National Championship, but even losing a game in-season you wish you could take back. That's your opportunity in NCAA play to do so. We're fired up and all the wins and losses have fired us up to prepare us for our next game on Sunday."
On what they know about Princeton and Drexel
"We were talking about it in practice (Monday) and even (Sunday) night when we found out, Drexel and Princeton are both incredible teams. I've never had the opportunity to play them yet in my career, so I was excited to see two new teams on our side of the bracket. I always like something a little bit new. They're fighters - both teams - you saw it the way they got into the tournament. You saw how fired up they were when they got in. We respect them completely and we're not taking any day for granted in practice. We have to be better every single day, every single second at practice to beat one of those teams on Sunday. Credit to them, we're excited to compete and we're going to put it all out there."
On what stat she takes the most pride in
"It's a tough question. A lot of people look at stats, but at the end of the day - especially as a midfielder - you don't always see the same stats. So, I think draws are incredibly important and a huge focus here at Boston College. You can't win a game if you don't have possession. That all stems from our draw team. Credit to them. I've joined it this year, but we have so many leaders on that draw team that have helped me this year. At the end of the day, I think with BC that's where all our grit comes from. So many of our middies are up there and every play is inspired through the draw team. The offense and defense sees how hard they work to get the ball. It inspires them to get a stop or get a goal to get another draw, so I think draws are crucial here. They're crucial on every team and we're especially focusing on them for the tournament."
On this year's team chemistry
"We are all such competitors. You don't come to BC or any ACC team if you're not. Off the field it's just such a tight-knit group. You hear it from a lot of teams, but I think the culture at BC is just different. I've said it since i committed here and it's the reason I came here. Every single girl on this team is willing to do whatever it takes to make the person next to them better. Whether it's a better person, a better player, a better competitor. And, it's just fun. We don't have any reason to not want our season to continue. We want to go to the end because we want to be here as long as possibly can. We have so much love in this program and I just can't wait to see where it takes us."
On one quote from Coach Walker-Weinstein that she'll be hearing 30 years from now
"I think Acacia's big one is all about dreaming big. We have jackets this year that says it on them. We have shirts that say it. It's her email signature. We hear it every single day at the beginning and end of practice when we visualize. So, just dreaming big. Always setting the bar high. if we have a good practice, it's not good enough, tomorrow has to be better. You have a good year, it doesn't matter. Next year's a new year and it's gotta be better. I think we just keep setting the bar high and keep dreaming big. It's something I'll take with me for the rest of my career and life."