[quote]By Drew Danko
Online Editor
Photo by Brittany Coates[/quote]

What is the award you won?

I won the all-state, all-academic Chicago Fire award. It’s an award they give out for people who succeed in academics, are active in their community, and for players who have all-around good soccer statistics.

How were you nominated for the award?

You get nominated to apply for it by your coach. Coach Robinson told me I should apply for it, and then he sends in his recommendation of why I should be picked from the people from Metea and out of the people from the state.

How many people receive the award?

I was on the first team and there was 23 people total on the first team. There were two more from our school, Ryan Donovan and John Lynch, who made all-state second team and honorable mention.

What has your favorite part of playing soccer in high school been?

I’d say the friendships. A lot of us, coming in freshman year, didn’t know each other because we had our groups from Granger, Hill, and Still. Just getting to know the guys over the past four years has been awesome, I’ve built a lot of friendships that way.

What does it mean to you winning this award?

It means a lot because it’s not just soccer, it’s also academic. Personally, I believe that soccer might not always take you everywhere you want to go in life, but your academics will and your knowledge of different things will take you further in life than just sports.

What does it mean being a good student athlete mean?

Being a good student athlete to me means a lot of time management skills and communication skills.  Obviously playing sports and being in difficult classes all at once can be hectic, but if you manage your time well, you know you will be able to get home from practice and do your homework as well. The communication aspect of it is learning to get along with the people on your team and those skills of being a team player will transfer into working in groups in school and other activities.