SPORTS HALL of FAME ATHLETE
Helen Harris '87
Sports was not a lifelong passion for Helen until she discovered she enjoyed hanging with her older sister and her friends as a young teen and that they were fun more than competitive. She proved herself with skills that earned the President's Physical Fitness Award along the way. Once modified and JV sports entered the picture, the juices started flowing. Helen's other qualities such as leadership emerged as well, as coaches in field hockey, basketball and softball soon discovered.
As a sophomore, Helen's field hockey team exceeded expectation to finish 14-2-2. Exceeded is the key word, since the previous year, the Lady Warriors were NYS Class A finalists in the first year of a complete state playoff format. The team had lost 8 players and the vast majority of its offense from the year before. Still, Sidney was 9-0-1 in league play, then won Section IV Class B followed by the regional and quarterfinal rounds before their season ended. Helen started as left back that fall, then moved to center back for the next two seasons, both times named team MVP.
Softball was just the opposite from a team standpoint. At shortstop, Helen was again a leader by example. She played two varsity seasons and earned first-team Sus West honors as a senior.
It was basketball that proved the highest priority. Three varsity seasons, starting (like hockey)a year after a sectional and state semifinalist team graduated her idol Krissy Smith. Rebuilding a little and reloading a little, the Lady Warriors progressively got better team-wise and Helen took on more responsibility as a player. And by 1986-87, the team was back as a local and state power.
Early season success established that notion. Helen was named MVP of the Sidney Tip-off Tournament and was an all-tournament selection in the AB Doyle weekend in Oxford.
The ultra-competitive Sus West division included Sidney and, in their final year as Susquenango members, Chenango Forks. During their first head-to-head match-up, CF established a seven point first half lead and the teams played almost even after that. Final score Forks 56 Sidney 50. After an upset loss to Windsor, .Sidney had to defeat Forks in the ivisional finale to tie them and force a one-game playoff. Helen's solid effort of 15 points plus five rebounds and five assists led to the 43-37 victory.
Just days later, Windsor hosted the special playoff for the Sus West crown. Early foul trouble put Helen on the bench - 4 fouls before halftime! - where she became a cheerleader and assistant coach rolled into one. Sure enough, her teammates responded and pulled out a 40-38 win and a date that Saturday at Hartwick with Deposit to play for the overall Susquenango crown.
In that finale, neither team shot well. Deposit held a two point lead heading into the final quarter. Sidney soon mustered a small lead, then Helen, as point guard, was fouled on consecutive possessions. She made 3 of 4 and a total of 5 out of 7 foul shots that quarter to seal the 42-39 win.
The post season's biggest drama was, of course, the Double OT Elmira Notre Dame Class C sectional final. While Michele Mancini's two FTs are well-known as the game-winning points (49-47) it was Helen who sank both ends of the one-&-one to force the second overtime period. She also had seven rebounds and two assists for the Lady Warriors. However, just five days later, lost to Little Falls in the Class state regional playoff. That evening, Sidney held a 40-35 lead and simply ran out of fuel. But Helen's scholastic finale was memorable as her ledger shows 17 points, 7 rebounds 2 assists and 2 steals.
The athletic banquet that spring reaped many individual awards. In fact, Helen is believed to be the only person to be selected for all three of these awards: Outstanding Female Athlete, Outstanding Female Sportsmanship and the Redmond Scholar-Athlete. Amazing!
Her tenacity for hoops carried on at LeMoyne, despite not planning on it. She walked on the team as a sophomore and was captain by her junior year! Alas, Helen knew her future was in the medical field. After earning her BS in Biology at LeMoyne in 1991, she earned a second Bachelor's in Physician Assistant from Kings College. She has been a PA for more than 25 years, mostly in Orthopedics.
Welcome to the Sidney Alumni Sports Hall of Fame Helen Harris!