The mustache is the first thing many people notice about Brad Smith. It extends past his smile and curls a little at the ends, reminiscent of former Major League Baseball pitcher Rollie Fingers.
He first grew one 10 years ago while he was a high school football player at Mountain Lakes (N.J.) as part of a “Movember” fundraiser.
He said his mother and sister hate it. His Whipsnakes teammate, Matt Rambo, said it was the best in the game. His coach, Jim Stagnitta, said that if Smith thinks he looks good, “That’s all that matters.”
Smith isn’t too concerned with what others think about his mustache, however; he does it because it’s something he likes.
“It’s for a good cause, so I don’t listen to the people that don’t like it,” said Smith, who will be partnering with Arete Lacrosse, based out of Minnesota, to start a non-profit Movember team for the fall of 2021.
While Stagnitta is noncommittal regarding his thoughts about Smith’s mustache, something he is more adamant about is that soon Smith will be known by lacrosse fans for more than just his facial hair.
“He’s the heir apparent. He’s our next Mike Chanenchuk and John Haus,” Stagnitta said. “It’s one of the reasons I’ve pushed him and challenged him. We need Brad. We need him now, and we will need him in the future to be that guy. He can be one of the great ones and have sustainability in this league.”
It also isn’t just Stagnitta who believes Smith will be the “alpha guy at the midfield.”
“Best part about Brad is his career is just getting started,” said Whipsnakes teammate Justin Guterding, who also played with Smith at Duke. “He will be one of the best midfielders to ever play this game, just wait.”
“We had him and Zed [Williams] coming onto our team as new guys [in 2020],” Rambo said. “We said, ‘You have the keys to the offense as well. It’s not just the guys that have been here. Whenever you have a good matchup, go ball out.’ When he did ball out, I was like, ‘This guy is legit.’ He’s one of the best middies in the league.”
The sentiment that Smith could be one of the top midfielders in the league — let alone in the history of the game — may come as a bit of a surprise to some. Smith didn’t come into the PLL with the same hype as other first-year players, nor did he get selected to play in the 2021 PLL All-Star Game like Grant Ament, Bryan Costabile, Jeff Teat, Michael Sowers or TD Ierlan. On his own team, he’s overshadowed by the first two MVPs in PLL history in Rambo and Williams.
Smith isn’t bothered by the lack of attention. He said learning not to be distracted by outside noise is one of the biggest lessons he’s learned while being a member of the veteran-heavy Whipsnakes.
“The biggest thing for me is playing lacrosse,” he said. “It’s not thinking about stuff, like don’t worry about the social media and publicity that’s outside of the locker room. The team is all that matters. That mindset, guys like Mike Chanenchuk, John Haus, Jeremy Sieverts, Matt Abbott, instilling that mindset that it’s your game, you have the freedom to play it the way you want — that’s been powerful and super helpful.”