Family Tree
Proud parents Jennifer and Richard Smith have exposed their son to all activities - minus football and diving with sharks.
Photo by Louis Lopez
It helps to have an outgoing and athletic dad like Richard and a nurturing devoted mom like Jennifer.
Richard, a salesman for Spellman High Voltage, competed as a youth in baseball, track and wrestling in the San Diego area. He and Jennifer, a flag team member in high school, fed their son's active nature with sports. They recognized his limitations, but didn’t dissuade him from competing with able-bodied children. One soccer league pushed Chandler to join a special needs league, but Richard and Jennifer declined. Jennifer, in fact, coached the team.
“Anything other than football or scuba diving with sharks we were all for,” Richard said. "We just wanted him to go down a path where he would be happy."
All athletic fields and courts have been his yellow brick road, especially because he was such a fan favorite. Like the first time he hit the ball in a T-Ball game. He was 5.
“I remember everyone going absolutely crazy,” Richard said. “But he had the hardest time getting around the bases. It was like Forrest Gump running for the first time without his braces.”
As Chandler grew older, games requiring speed and jumping became more challenging. He loved basketball and was a good shooter and ballhandler, but lateral movement and getting vertical was next to impossible.
There's little Smith didn't do growing up, including going to the races,as he did here at age 7.
Photo Courtsey of the Smith family
It was a hard reality when he was cut from the team, but that only led him to lacrosse, which was recommended by Cole. Richard, who has stayed active in martial arts and triathlon training, knew nothing about the ball and stick game and figured it wasn’t a match.
“I thought it was a lot of running and cutting,” he said. “When they said he’d play goalie, I thought OK. But then I felt how hard those balls are and thought I wouldn’t want do that. Those things hurt.”
But watching Chandler compete has helped take away some of the family hurt.
Jennifer’s father was recently diagnosed with Stage 4 throat cancer. She also has a bulging disc in her back that needs surgery. In all the years her son has competed, she’s missed attending only once and that was to watch daughter Courtney perform in dance.
“I love watching him play,” she said. “All the boys on the team are amazing. They always have wonderful things to say about him. They’re always encouraging. They just treat him like a normal boy. A normal boy who is missing a leg.”
