Snoopy Davidson is an ALL-Star Soccer player

John "Snoopy" Davidson

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In its 26th year of honoring the nation’s best high school athletes, The Gatorade Company, in collaboration with ESPN RISE, today announced John “Snoopy” Davidson of Rome High School as its 2010-11 Gatorade Georgia Boys Soccer Player of the Year.

Davidson is the first Gatorade Georgia Boys Soccer Player of the Year to be chosen from Rome 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 Davidson as Georgia’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 May, Davidson joins an elite alumni association of past state award-winners in 12 sports, including Alexi Lalas (1987-88, Cranbrook HS, Mich.), Derek Jeter (1991-92, Kalamazoo HS, Mich.), Candace Parker (2001-02, Naperville Central HS, Ill.), Tony Meola (1986-87, Kearney HS, N.J.) and Mark Sanchez (2004-05, Mission Viejo HS, Calif.).

The 6-foot-1, 165-pound senior striker recorded 28 goals and 12 assists this past season, leading the Wolves (12-5) to the Class 4A state tournament. The 2010 Rome News Trib-une Player of the Year, Davidson is a three-time News Trib-une All-Area selection. He concluded his prep soccer career with 86 goals and 39 assists.

Davidson has maintained an A average (4.00) in the classroom. He has volunteered locally at a food bank and as a youth mentor at his church. He has also participated in a service-mission trip to Bolivia.

“He’s such a workhorse,” said Gregg Blasingame, the Director of Coaching for the Atlanta-based Concorde Fire club program. “His work rate on the field for 90 minutes is off the charts. He’s fearless, he’s phenomenal in the air and he goes for every ball. As far as I’m concerned, he’s the top forward on our Academy team. You can always rely on him. He always shows up to play.”

Davidson has signed a National Letter of Intent to play soccer on scholarship at the University of South Carolina 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 ESPN RISE and the Gatorade high school sports leadership team, 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.

Davidson joins recent Gatorade Georgia Boys Soccer Players of the Year Jordan McCrary (2009-10, Lassiter), Chris Thomas (2008-09, Greater Atlanta Christian School), and Connor Barbaree (2007-08, Walton) among the state’s list of former award winners.