Memorial Standout Boys Soccer Player of the Year

News Release: Memorial High School STANDOUT NAMED GATORADE Indiana BOYS SOCCER PLAYER OF THE YEAR CHICAGO (February 7, 2008) — In its third decade of honoring the nation’s best high school athletes, The Gatorade Company, in partnership with RISE Magazine, today announced Mitch Day of Memorial High School as its 2007-08 Gatorade Indiana Boys Soccer Player of the Year. Mitch is the first Gatorade Indiana Boys Soccer Player of the Year chosen from Memorial 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 Day as Indiana’s best high school boys soccer player. Day, along with his fellow fall soccer season Gatorade State Players of the Year, is now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade National Boys Soccer Player of the Year award to be announced in May. The 5-foot-9, 150-pound senior central midfielder scored nine goals and added nine assists this past fall, leading the Bulldogs (23-0-2) to the state championship. The Player of the Year as named by the Indiana Soccer Coaches Association and the state’s lone National Soccer Coaches Association of America All-American, Day guided an offense that outscored its opponents 36-1 in eight post season games. He concluded his career with 32 goals and 38 assists. Day has maintained a 5.9 GPA in the classroom on a 6.0 scale. In addition to writing for The View, Memorial High’s student newspaper, he participates in numerous community-service initiatives as a member of Key Club International, and has also donated his time to Teens for Life, an organization devoted to supporting and insuring respect for all forms of life. “When you think of Gatorade Player of the Year, you think of an impact player, someone who proves to be a constant threat on the field, and Day certainly is that,” said James Sensibaugh, head coach of rival Chesterton High. “He has lots of quickness, intellect and good command of his fellow teammates. He’s just a sound player all around. When we played them, he definitely stood out among two pretty good teams.” Day has verbally committed to a soccer scholarship at the University of Evansville 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. The selection process is administered by RISE Magazine, which works with top sport-specific experts and a media advisory board of accomplished, veteran prep sports journalists to determine the state winners in each sport. Day joins Robby Lynch (2006-07, Carmel HS), Luke Woodworth (2005-06, Northridge HS), and Jordan Seabrook (2004-05, North Central HS) on the list of former Gatorade Indiana Boys Soccer Players of the Year. 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 gatorade.com/playeroftheyear.