Gatorade State Girls Soccer Player of the Year for 2005-2006
CHICAGO (February 14, 2006) — Entering its third decade of honoring the nation's best high school athletes, Gatorade® Thirst Quencher today announced Kelley O'Hara of Starr's Mill High School in Fayetteville as its 2005-06 Georgia Girls Soccer Player of the Year.
Gatorade, in partnership with Scholastic Coach & Athletic Director magazine, named State Girls Soccer Player of the Year award winners representing all 50 states and the District of Columbia. O'Hara, along with her fellow State Players of the Year, is now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade National Girls Soccer Player of the Year award to be announced in late February.
O'Hara, a 5-foot-6-inch senior forward, concluded a dominant high school career by scoring 20 goals and notching 16 assists in just 17 games. She was named All-Region, Region MVP, Georgia Player of the Year, and NSCAA All-American. In addition, she is the youngest member of the U.S. U-20 national team – one of only three high school players on the squad.
O'Hara's excellence extends to the classroom, where she carries a 3.97 GPA. She is active in student government, serving as the secretary of her class's executive board, and has served as a peer mediator for four years. She will attend Stanford University in the fall.
"Kelley is a joy to coach – bright, energetic, fun-loving and enthusiastic," says Starr's Mill High head coach, Greg Shifflet. "She puts a lot of responsibility on herself and follows through on it. She also frequently passes up scoring opportunities so that she can assist her teammates in scoring. Kelley is very unselfish both on and off the field."
The Gatorade Player of the Year program recognizes one winner in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia in football and baseball (boys), volleyball and softball (girls), as well as soccer, basketball, and track & field (boys and girls). Each state winner, selected by a panel of sport-specific experts in conjunction with a national media advisory board, is chosen based on his or her outstanding accomplishments on and off the field of play. In addition to athletic performance, award criteria include the achievement in the classroom and overall character.
O'Hara joins recent Georgia Girls Soccer Players of the Year Christie McDonald (2004-05, Newnan HS), Lynn Murray (2003-04, Wheeler HS), and Ashley Foster (2002-03, Clarke Central HS) among the state's list of former award winners.
For more on the Gatorade Player of the Year program, including nomination information, a list of past winners, and the announcement of the Gatorade National Player of the Year, visit www.gatorade.com/playeroftheyear.
