LAPLACE —  As a standout wide receiver and track star at St. James High, then as a football and softball coach at St. James and East St. John High, Chad Smith has rarely had to change his colors.

Both schools wear black and gold; both are Wildcats.

Smith only had to add a little green to his wardrobe when he was starring on the Norfolk State University football team. They wear green and gold.

So Smith is facing a rather difficult task this summer, changing his wardrobe from black and gold to blue and white. He will be the head softball and assistant football coach at West St. John High in 2016-17.

“Coach (Brandon) Walters told me the first day, ‘Man, we’ve got to get you out of all that black and gold,” Smith said. “When they offered me the position, I told them, I’m a St. James man. They were persistent though. Finally I told them, ‘What the heck.’”

That isn’t all Smith is doing this summer.

He has spent most of his time chasing after his daughter, Tr’Nahja Smith, 12, who is a budding track star with the St. John Legends youth track team

Nicknamed “Dut” by her godfather when she was just a tot, Tr’Nahja is going places, too. In a few weeks she will be travelling to Humble, Texas, where she will compete in the 100 and 200 meter dashes in the AAU Junior Olympics July 27 through Aug. 5.

“I’m kind of excited and kind of nervous at the same time because I know there’s going to be a lot of competition,” Tr’Nahja said.

Although this will be the largest event the young lady has competed in, this is not her first time qualifying. In her first year in the Legends, Tr’Nahja qualified for the Junior Olympics in Iowa. She was unable to go because Chad had just been diagnosed with kidney cancer.

“I was disappointed but I knew it was for the best, because my dad got sick,” Tr’Nahja said.

She qualified again last year but was unable to attend. Chad was still recovering, and the family’s finances didn’t allow it.

“I really wanted her to go, too, because it was in Norfolk, where I ran track,” Chad said.

This year, Chad, who is cancer-free, is determined to see his daughter compete in Texas. He has spent recent weeks cooking up pastalaya plate lunches to help raise funds.

“They say my pastalaya is like nobody else’s,” he said.

Chad is also adding a little spice to the River Parishes football rivalry between West St. John and St. James — a game that traditionally opens the football season.

Chad, the St. James grad, now is at West St. John. His brother, Tevis Smith, who was a stellar defensive back at St. James, just took a job as an assistant coach there. St. James quarterback Lowell Narcisse is also a cousin.

“It’s going to be interesting,” Chad said. “All my family will be in black and gold.”