Chaney’s Wall to honor Smith, Berdis

By Joe Scalzo

The Jets receiver will offer a free football camp next month.

YOUNGSTOWN — On June 13, Chaney High School will honor Brad Smith.

On June 14, he plans to return the favor.

Chaney will induct Smith and his high school coach, Ron Berdis, onto the school’s prestigious Wall of Fame, honoring them with a banquet at the Georgetown on June 13. The next day, Smith will hold his inaugural football camp — free of charge — for about 100 kids in the city.

“I just wanted to give back to the community,” said Smith, a former standout quarterback at Missouri who now plays wide receiver for the New York Jets. “There are a lot of kids having trouble, a lot of bad examples and bad alternatives. We wanted to give them something positive, where they can come out, have fun, meet some other athletes and hopefully learn something.”

The camp, which will feature some of Smith’s college and professional teammates, is open to athletes ages 8-16 and applications are available at schools across the city. The application deadline is June 7 and kids are encouraged to get their applications in early since there are limited openings.

“It’s not about numbers, it’s about impacting kids,” Smith said. “We’ll give the best we got to those 100. If it gets bigger [in upcoming years], we’ll go from there.”

Smith was the first player in NCAA Division I-A history to pass for more than 8,000 yards and run for more than 4,000 in his career. He said he was humbled by his selection to the school’s Wall of Fame and was proud to be inducted with Berdis.

“When you’re walking through the hallways at Chaney and you see the guys up there, it’s kind of like a mythical thing,” said Smith, who will join former Chaney standouts such as Frank Sinkwich and Jerry Olsavsky. “It’s great to be a part of that and it makes it even better to go in with Coach Berdis. He’s one of the best coaches the city ever had.”

Berdis spent 30 years at Chaney as an assistant and a head coach and retired as the winningest coach in City Series history.

“It’s certainly very special in itself,” said Berdis, who will join former Chaney coaches Red Angelo and Ches McPhee on the wall. “Having a father who played at Chaney and knowing all the guys who are up there — that’s something that makes it a real special deal.

“To even be mentioned with some of those people is certainly an honor,” Berdis said. “It makes it that much more special to be able to go in with a kid the caliber of Brad.”

Tony Lariccia also will be honored at the banquet with the George Shuba Diversity Award.

Doors open for the banquet at 6 p.m. Tickets cost $25 and are available at Chaney High, Mill Creek Deli on South Schenley and at Cornersburg Italian Specialties on Canfield Road.