Francis Nardiello Smith eludes two defenders during a recent match for Club Ohio. The Bristol native will also play for New Albany High School in Columbus and has set his sights on the All-America team.
Photo by David Kirkley
COLUMBUS, Ohio — By the time he was 16, Bristol native Francis Nardiello Smith had played for four regional and two national soccer teams in the Olympic Development Program.
“They called him ‘The Mayor,’” said Hugh Brown, Nardiello Smith’s coach at Burlington-based Synergy Football Club. “Francis always went out of his way to make sure the other players were doing OK. He made sure they were eating well. He would actually go around and hand out fruit.”
It was the same on the practice field.
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