SPORTS HALL of FAME ATHLETE
Chad Smith - 2001

One can draw many parallels in our oldest and youngest member of the Class of 2019, at least during the four years of high school. Chad Smith set his own standards within the framework of a "team first" mindset.The tendencies for guys of (dare we say it) shorter stature is to fill roles on any given team. To a point, that was true of Chad. Those roles also created room for individual success.

In youth sports, however, where everyone is roughly the same size, he saw how speed and agility could be a real asset. Mostly, it was the fun of sports played with friends that propelled the youngster. He was often coached by his biggest athletic influence, his father Chris - an outstanding multi-sport athlete himself

Originally, wrestling was his winter sport choice although basketball had been his favorite. Hoops won out. Talk about role player..Chad had some experience filling in for older players involved in the 1998 NYS championship team. So by the time he was a junior, he was filling a key role as a defensive specialist, usually first off the bench.

By far the highlight on the hardwood was at the Broome County Arena, site of the 2000 Section IV Class C semis vs a powerful rival in Union Springs. Chad was thrust into a key role as a nail-biter went into overtime. Starting guard Eric Miley had fouled out in the first overtime. Late in the second OT, score tied at 67, a busted in-bounds pass went to Jon Carvin who drove baseline, drew a double team, and fed Chad with a nifty pass that he banked in for the game winner. It was his only shot of the game! The Warriors went on to make the state final four that season.

His role was starter and defender of the opponents' point guard as a senior. Though not as successful as the year before, Sidney had a very competitive team.

Not many know that in baseball, Chad played 2nd base because of arm problems which prevented him from making longer throws from short or third. No matter; a 4-year varsity career says it all. Defense was just one specialty, as he led the Sus League in fielding percentage (.951) as a freshman. Offensively he set a Sidney record as a junior, batting a resounding .509! It was a season, he recalled, that seemed like he would get a hit every time he walked to the plate.

It was football where Chad's lasting impressions were most revered. It really helped that a revamped Sidney football program only a few years before proved custom-made for the diminutive Chad Smith. In only two varsity seasons, Chad's running behind the "double wing" offensive scheme paid immediate dividends. Although the team records showed a pair of 3-6 seasons, there were individual records being set, and then broken on a consistent basis..

Junior year, 1999, Chad posted a single game rushing mark of 312 yards as well as a single season total of 1274.yards, and average yards per game of 141.6. His 13 TDs and 8.2 yards per carry also put him in the top 5 all-time at Sidney. But the best was yet to come.

Faced with another tough schedule, the hopeful Warriors struggled to an 0-4 start before taking its high-powered offense to the gridiron. They won three of their final five games, which included an OT loss to Greene. Still, Chad's rushing stats kept building, and it became a source of team pride. After a 320 yard performance mid-season, he went above and beyond, setting new records with 5 touchdowns and 349 yards versus Unadilla Valley. That was followed in his scholastic finale when a 240 yard effort - and one throwing TD! - helped Sidney bury Elmira Heights 50-28. But it also established Chad's status as Section IV's top rusher with 1749 yards and a school record 18 TDs.

He was named to many all-star teams that fall, yet also was one of only 25 section-wide to be named scholar athlete, a preview of his post-athletic career. Chad went on to major in Economics at SUNY-Albany. He returned to Sidney, started a family and is a contracts manager at Amphenol. He enjoys coaching his daughter Stella and plays a little softball.