Gatorade Celebrates 25 Years
of the Best in High School Sports
Prestigious Gatorade Player of the Year award recognizes preps for exemplary performance on and off the field

CHICAGO (September 15, 2009) – Peyton Manning. Candace Parker. Joe Mauer. Kerri Walsh. Before they were big names, they were Gatorade Players of the Year. This season, the nation’s most prestigious high school athletic program celebrates its 25th year of honoring and fueling the performance of the nation’s best and brightest high school athletes.

“Over and over, Gatorade Player of the Year award winners tell us what a great honor it is to be added to the same roster as some of today’s top athletes,” said Gatorade Senior Vice President of Sports Marketing Jennifer Storms. “No other high school sports award honors as many athletes in as many sports for not only their performance on the field, but for their dedication to academics and the exemplary character they exhibit in their own communities.”

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, volleyball, boys and girls cross country, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls soccer, baseball, softball, and boys and girls track & field for their athletic excellence, academic achievement and exemplary character, and awards one National Player of the Year in each sport. To date, the Gatorade Player of the Year program has honored more than 10,500 State Players of the Year and 210 National Players of the Year.

The selection process is administered by ESPN RISE, 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.

“The Gatorade Player of the Year award was designed to celebrate that same will to win found at the professional level, and over its 25 years, has significantly contributed to bringing high school athletics to the national stage,” said Gatorade Player of the Year Ambassador & Historian, Bruce Weber.

Gatorade has some exciting and surprising events planned to celebrate the award’s 25th anniversary. To keep up to date on the latest happenings, become a fan of Gatorade Player of the Year on Facebook and follow Gatorade on Twitter. For more information on the Gatorade Player of the Year program, including nomination information and lists of past winners and future announcement dates, visit www.playeroftheyear.gatorade.com.

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