LAKE PLACID – As a four-year starter on soccer teams that have racked up four consecutive Section VII championships, Stuart Baird has enjoyed tons of success playing for the Lake Placid Blue Bombers.

But entering this season as a senior, he has been looking to reach two more milestones while wrapping up a career as one of the best players in the history of Lake Placid high school soccer. Baird accomplished one of those missions on Friday, Oct. 14 when he was named the Northern Soccer League Division II Most Valuable Player.

“To be honest, it’s something I’ve been trying to achieve, and I’m overjoyed,” Baird said of his MVP selection. “It’s something I started working toward when I came into the program. I was excited to be on a winning side my freshman year, and that just became a recurring theme as time went on.

“I found out I really liked the game of soccer my freshman year, and I’ve been fortunate having a great coach like Stuart Hemsley taking me under his wing. Playing with Lake Placid, and then getting more involved playing club soccer in Plattsburgh and Burlington has really helped along the way.”

Last season, Baird finished runner-up in the MVP voting behind Joel Morris of Elizabethtown/Lewis-Westport. This fall, Baird received the honor while piling up 17 goals and 13 assists on a Blue Bombers team that owns an 11-4 record and is currently ranked sixth in Class D in the state sportswriters poll.

Baird now hopes to get to the next milestone during the next couple of weeks. Along with his teammates, he is looking to end Lake Placid’s string of four heartbreaking one-goal losses in the state regional and quarterfinal rounds, and finally advance to the final four. In their past four trips to state play, the Blue Bombers have lost 1-0 twice in regulation, dropped another 1-0 match in overtime and were denied again in game decided by penalty kicks.

With their MVP captain leading the way, a very veteran group of Blue Bombers hopes to leave those misfortunes behind. They’ll take the first step toward that objective on Wednesday when they face Seton Catholic in the Section VII, Class C championship game.

Playing tough defense has been a Lake Placid mainstay during its run of titles. But this year, the offense has kicked into an entirely new level while amassing 57 goals in 15 games. That offensive production has upped the Blue Bombers’ confidence when it comes to their chances of finally ending their scoring woes in state postseason matches.

“We’ve really made the transition,” Baird said. “Last year, our leading scorer had 10 goals. This season, three players on the team have 10 or more goals, and we have other people who can put the ball in the net. When we walked off that field last year with another 1-0 loss (in the state quartfinals), we all had a bitter taste in our mouths. That’s been an inspiration for us this season. We’re definitely taking this season more seriously.

“We have an older roster. I’m playing alongside some great players, and we’re really great friends who have been on the soccer field together for years,” Baird continued. “The big thing this year is we really know each other, and we really trust each other. We all know we are all capable of getting the job done.”

Baird actually joined the varsity team as an eighth-grader late in the season when the Blue Bombers were making a push toward their first of four sectional titles in a row, which was also Hemsley’s first year as head coach.

Hemsley said he’s been fortunate and honored to have the opportunity to coach a player like Baird.

“My main problem with Stuart is whenever I hear his name, I’d have to turn around. We have the same name,” Hemsley quipped. “We got that straightened out. He’s Stuart, and they call me coach. Really, he’s the model student and the model player. He’s a smart kid, but the best thing, he’s a really good kid. He’s a great friend and teammate.”

Hemsley said Baird has made huge strides as a player since ninth grade, and added he has little doubt Baird can excel at the sport for several years to come.

“He’s grown as a player every year, but he’s improved 10-fold just in the last year,” Hemsley said. “A lot of that is due to playing club soccer in Vermont. I still don’t think we’ve seen the best of Stuart Baird. He could have a standout college career, maybe he can make it a career after college as well. He’s strong, he’s got a great vertical jump to get on head balls, he can bury the ball either right or left footed. He’s the full package.

“What he’s done for us, he’s been doing the same thing for his club teams – getting hat tricks, getting game-winners in tournaments and things like that,” Hemsley added. “He’s had career highs that we’ve never seen. He could have easily taken another route to pursue soccer, and we’re just fortunate that he chose to stick with us at Lake Placid.”

Athough Baird hasn’t made a final decision on where he will play college soccer next fall, he said the University of Vermont is the frontrunner. But before that happens, Baird, as well as Hemsley, hope there are still four or five games remaining for the talented forward in what has turned out to be a long and stellar high school career.

“I’m excited for him, I’m excited for us,” Hemsley said. “We’re hoping he’s around, we’re all around, for a few more weeks. Teams have their Ronaldo, teams have their Messi, we have our Stuart Baird.”