SPORTS HALL of FAME COACH
Harry DeBloom

Harry was born and brought up in a farm with his 3 brothers and 2 sisters. There he learned the meaning of hard work and perseverance. He dropped out of high school twice to help the family. Realizing he did not want to do manual labor all his life, he worked his way through Oneonta Normal School, and State College at Cortland.

His first job was coaching and teaching Phys Ed at Cornwall on the Hudson. He came to Sidney teaching gym, coaching sports, driving the bus to the away games, taking the out of town team members home, and even lining the fields. It was also a "family job" as his wife Janette washed the football jerseys in the wringer washer in the basement of their Riverside home and the girls were his cheerleaders before he left for the out of town games. One of his daughters even tried to join the football team in the huddle during a home game.

Lessons learned growing up were passed on to all he was in contact with. Harry believed respect was earned and teachers needed to set an example for their students in what they said and did. He also believed that anything worth doing was worth doing well. He often commented that the students he came down hardest on were the ones who later stopped to visit when they were in town.

He retired the year he turned 66 and spent his later years wintering in Florida, where he could play golf, and his summers enjoying his children and their spouses, and well as his grandchildren and his friends.