Narissa Smith – June 2019 Athlete of the Month

Narissa “Rissi” Smith, 13, from Attleboro, has been a long time member of Elite Sports Performance & Physical Therapy in Foxboro.  She joined us in July 2017 and has been “getting after it” ever since, participating in both Elite’s strength-based classes (Athlete Training) and our speed & agility classes (S.P.A.R.)!  On her ‘off days,’ you can typically find her shooting at Mass Premier Courts.  Her dedication to increasing her upper body strength and improving her basketball shot definitely shows on the court.  On a fast break, she is close to impossible to stop and will find the smallest openings on her way to the basket.  She has the ability to dominate games both offensively and defensively.   She has a deadly three-point shot (she hit five shots from behind the arc in a single game, one of her proudest accomplishments!), but can also drive to the basket and pass off in mid-flight to her teammates.  She sees the entire floor and can pass from anywhere, a valuable stat to any basketball player!

Rissi not only plays on her town’s travel team out of Attleboro but also plays in a very competitive AAU program for the MCW Starz and one a soccer team.  Her heart and passion are with basketball, but she says she notices a significant change in her overall athletic performance and Elite has given her quite the confidence boost!

At Elite, all coaches agree, she is absolutely unstoppable and nothing but business on the turf!  She walks through the door and immediately begins her training program with her dynamic warm-up.  She understands the importance of stretching and injury prevention – she even takes what she learns at Elite home and performs these exercises prior to her soccer & basketball events.  She enjoys the challenging atmosphere and camaraderie amongst other athletes at Elite.  She is always looking to take over a top spot on the ‘Elitest Board’ – a chalkboard at Elite of current record holders for specific sports performance test ranked by age & gender.  Currently, Rissi dominates the board for her age group in the broad jump, vertical jump, and the Force sprint!  She is just seconds away from the record in the T-test (an agility test involving forward, lateral and backward running patterns appropriate to a wide range of sports) and claiming the crown for all four!

Narissa is looking forward to playing soccer and basketball throughout high school and into college.  She is an extremely dedicated athlete and we are beyond proud of her – the sky is the limit for Rissi!  We are excited to announce Narissa Smith as Elite’s Athlete of the Month for June 2019!  Congratulations and continue to ‘get after it!’