CNY Spotlight Athlete of the Week: West Genesee Hockey Player Will Schneid (video)

Syracuse, NY – The almost completely frozen patch of ice can be found in the backyard of the Schneid House in Geddes, as it has for the past two decades.

All it needs now is a few days of freezing weather to firm it up, and then it will become one of the hottest and coolest places in the neighborhood.

That’s because it’s one of those rare times that the six Schneid siblings are home and ready to go out for a walk.

There’s Andrew, 19, a sophomore at Clarkson; James, 17, who skates at Northwood Preparatory School; Will be, 14, a freshman star for the Wildcats; twins Matthew and Lizzie, 11, who play youth hockey; and aspiring speedster Anna, 5, who is just learning to skate.

Oh yeah, there’s the old-school dad, Dave, who was a pretty good Wildcats player himself at the time (and still a better lacrosse player at Cornell). He is known to spin around the rink himself a bit.

“I’m sure the six of us (the kids) will be going out, if it freezes hopefully this winter,” Will said. “You never know. Hope it freezes soon. It’s a great experience.

When you come from a hockey family like the Schneids, there should always be room for fun. Especially considering the way they go about the business of hockey.

Will, a right winger, lives up to the hockey family’s name with a total of 12 Section III-led goals for the Wildcats this season, including three hat tricks, in just six games. His quick start earned him recognition as the Featured Athlete of the Week on Syracuse.com.

“I attribute this a lot to the teamwork ethic over the summer,” said Schneid. “We worked hard at summer camp, worked hard at training camp before the season. As a team, we were all ready to play. Lots of people are successful, so everyone is just good to go.

Unfortunately for the Wildcats, the team is on a Covid-related hiatus for the next two weeks. Whenever West Genesee returns to play, it will be Schneid who leads the charge.

He got an impressive head start on his eighth-grade career last season, burying nine goals. Neither Andrew nor James got a place in college at this age, but West Genesee coach Frank Colabufo quickly felt Will’s ability to consistently create chances and shoot on goal.

“It’s hard to teach scoring. Either way, he seems to have it, ”Colabufo said.

“I think I’ve been put in a lot of situations where I have the opportunity to put the puck in the back of the net for my teammates, making plays,” said Schneid. “If they’re making plays it’s just easier for me to find a way to put the puck in the net from there. “

The bonus of last year is that it gave Will the chance to skate a college season with James.

“Playing with James last year was a great experience. He really helped me adjust to the way high school works and helped me get to know the game better and how it is different from the other (places) I’ve played, “said Will.” He’s really helped me become the person and the player that I am today. He’s got a great mentality on the ice. It’s good at see and I like to base my game on it.

Overall, the older brothers are apparently more teammates than sibling rivals. Despite their approaching age and the competitiveness of their sport, Will said there isn’t a lot of chirping when they all take the ice together. He said family success is more of a resource than a burden.

“I don’t really think of it as following in their footsteps too much. I’m just focusing on each day, you just want to become a better version of yourself, ”he said. “If you make them proud along the way, that matters. Making them proud is a good goal. But overall I’m looking forward to continuing to be successful this year as a team.

While it’s unclear when this quest will continue, Schneid doesn’t expect the dismissal to create any problems for West Genesee.

“We will all continue to stay focused and get healthy. And once we’re healthy I know everyone will come back excited and ready to go, ”he said. “I think basically we’re just going to get ready every day that we have a game or practice, prepare as much as possible for the event. And if that happens, then we’ll be ready for it. If not, then we just look at the next one.

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