Bryan Silver named Gatorade Virginia Boys Soccer Player of the Year
CHICAGO (Via Gatorade) — In its 33rd year of honoring the nation’s best high school athletes, The Gatorade Company, announced Bryan Silver of Oakton High School as its 2017-18 Gatorade Virginia Boys Soccer Player of the Year.
Silver is the first Gatorade Virginia Boys Soccer Player of the Year to be chosen from Oakton High School.
The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the field, distinguishes Silver as Virginia’s best high school boys soccer player. Now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade National Boys Soccer Player of the Year award to be announced in June, Silver joins an elite alumni association of past state soccer award-winners, including Alexi Lalas (1987-88, Cranbrook HS, Mich.), Steve Cherundolo (1996-97, Mt. Carmel HS, Calif.), Abby Wambach (1997-98, Our Lady of Mercy, N.Y.), Heather O’Reilly (2001-02, 2002-03, East Brunswick HS, N.J.), Matt Besler (2004-04, Blue Valley West HS, Kans.), Jack Harrison (2013- 14, Berkshire HS, Mass.), Mallory Pugh (2014-15, Mountain Vista HS, Colo.).
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The 6-foot, 150-pound senior midfielder had led the Cougars to a 16-0-2 record and a berth in the Class 6 state quarterfinals at the time of his selection. Silver scored seven goals and passed for seven assists through 18 games. The 2018 Class 6 Region D Player of the Year, Silver is rated as the nation’s No. 107 recruit in the Class of 2018 by TopDrawerSoccer.com. He entered the state tournament with 19 goals and 28 goals in his prep soccer career.
He has donated his time as part of multiple community service initiatives through the National Honor Society. “Bryan is a technically gifted player, but I think what sets him apart from other players at this level is his knowledge of the game,” said Randy Wood, head coach of Madison High. “He knows where he needs to be on the field and he has great vision and awareness when he has the ball.”
Silver has maintained a weighted 4.35 GPA in the classroom. He has signed a national letter of intent to play soccer on scholarship at the University of Notre Dame this fall.
The Gatorade Player of the Year program annually recognizes one winner in the District of Columbia and each of the 50 states that sanction high school football, girls volleyball, boys and girls cross country, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls soccer, baseball, softball, and boys and girls track & field, and awards one National Player of the Year in each sport. The selection process is administered by the Gatorade Player of the Year Selection Committee, which work with top sport-specific experts and a media advisory board of accomplished, veteran prep sports journalists to determine the state winners in each sport.
Silver joins recent Gatorade Virginia Boys Soccer Players of the Year Jacob Labovitz (2016-17, Langley High School), Lucas Mendes (2015-16, Washington-Lee High School), Marcel Berry (2014-15, Albemarle High School), Peter Pearson (2013-14, Cape Henry Collegiate School), Suli Dainkeh (2012-13, South Lakes High School), Todd Wharton (2011-12, Deep Run High School), Luis Rendon (2010–11, Cosby High School), Ryan Zinkhan (2009-10, Riverbend High School), Will Bates (2008–09, Thomas Dale High School), Christian McLaughlin (2007-08, Herndon High School), and Uche Onyeador (2006-07, Potomac Falls High School) among the state’s list of former award winners.
As a Gatorade Player of the Year, Silver will be able to select a national or local youth sports organization to receive a grant as part of the Gatorade Play It Forward program. Every Gatorade Player of the Year state winner receives a $1,000 grant to donate and will have the opportunity to enter for an additional $10,000 spotlight grant by writing a brief essay explaining why their selected organization deserves additional support. 12 spotlight grants – one for each sport – will be announced throughout the year.
