SPORTS HALL of FAME COACH
Larry Armour

Larry had a hand in coaching a variety of sports at all different levels. Ironically, the one sport in which he had the least experience will be his signature in Sidney athletic history - the weight events in track & field

First a little background: Larry is a Unadilla High School graduate who played football for Gerald "Jerry" Green, a Section IV Hall of Fame coach and contributor. After high school, Larry played football at Lycoming College and also in the US Navy for ComCruDes FT 4 out of Norfolk, Va. A student teaching stint at Sidney Junior High led to a full-time position as a Junior High Social Studies and 9th grade Introduction to Business teacher.

It didn't take long for then-Athletic Director Fran Redmond to apply the legendary "finger to the chest" and anoint Larry as the new Junior High Football Coach. Through the next few years, he served as 7th, 8th, 9th grade and Junior Varsity coach and also was a varsity assistant coach and scout. In those days, the scout rarely saw his own team play; there was no videotaping, either. You wrote everything down on a clipboard and then relayed it to the coaches for the next week's practice. Surely a "behind the scenes" effort.

Fate struck for Larry again, when Varsity Rifle Coach Ted Jones asked for a year off and, once again, the Redmond request for a substitute was made. This was already a successful program, yet they maintained and even surpassed previous results! In the Algonquin Rifle League (consisting of Sidney, Bainbridge-Guilford, Deposit, Hancock, Mt. Upton, Norwich, Walton and Windsor), the team known as "Armour's Army" won top honors twice. They also won the Section IV Championship twice and finished 4th in the New York State Championships twice. Keep in mind like many sports, all rifle teams competed equally at the state level.

Larry is a familiar figure at the boys basketball games as a scorekeeper. He was in Glens Falls for all three state final four appearances (1998-2000-2007) with Coach Mike Brazee which of course includes the'98 and'07 NYS champions. He may be the only person to have a direct link from these teams to the first hoops team to win at States in 1979. He was a Junior High coach to the the boys on that team!

Junior High sports gave way to Modified sports and Larry remained a dedicated teacher/coach. He continued to work with the younger teams in basketball, but eventually added boys and girls soccer to his resume. As a former football coach, Larry felt the heat as soccer was, at times, a tough sell. But his positive approach was evident as players he had once coached helped shape Sidney into a perennial Susquenango and MAC contender.

However it was varsity track and field - or more specifically the discus and shot put - where Larry found his niche. Hall of Fame coach Doug Quinney brought him into the "family" and gave Larry every opportunity to learn the nuances of coaching these events. He was a quick learner.

In the early 1980s, he guided Kim Jones to Sectional shot put titles both indoors and outdoors. Or as he admits, Kim guided him. She had had more throwing experience than Larry had even seen, yet the tandem shared a mutual respect. It was a springboard experience that led to more Sidney field event success.

The names flow easily - Chris Graney, Dave DuMond, Wendy Simonds, Katy Packard, Erin Stanton, Brandon McEwan. All were state caliber athletes in one or both weight events. In some case, Larry found his day job as teacher in the middle school enabled him to spot young talent. Like Coach Quinney, Larry had "a way" of encouraging these young people to give shot put and discus a try and it usually led to amazing accomplishments.

Even when Larry added long jump to his repertoire, he found those special kids who could respond to positive stimulus. Lindsay Hinsch was one of them. Though Larry was unable to attend the state meet in her senior year, Lindsay offered a quote to the newspaper that she had "remembered what he had told me" as she leaped to a state championship.

More than results, Larry admits that his induction to the Hall of Fame is "more of a tribute to ... the great athletes and coaches I have had the great opportunity to associate with over the years. They have helped me keep my eyes along the skyline and never look back."

Larry, you did it all with a sense of calm and dedication not often seen in coaching today, For what you've meant to these kids as much as the results you inspired, we welcome you into the Sidney Alumni Sports Hall of Fame.