Cape Coral Soccer Association’s very own Leo Perez has been named Gatorade’s Florida Boys Soccer Player of the Year. Leo is the first in the history of his high school, Mariner High School in Cape Coral, and of CCSA to receive this distinction.
Leo started with CCSA in the fall of 2015. He has played the past few seasons for the Cyclones under Coach Bajro Dizdarevic and for coach Martin Cardenas at Mariner High School. He will be playing for the U19 boys Cyclones team with Coach Terry Horan this fall.
In a press release from Gatorade, Leo’s accomplishments both on and off the field are highlighted –
“The 6-foot, 160-pound junior forward scored a school-record 47 goals and passed for 17 assists this past season,
leading the Tritons (24-2-4) to the Class 3A state quarterfinals. The Class 3A Player of the Year, Perez recorded 13 multi-goal games, including seven hat tricks. An Allstate All-America selection, Perez was chosen to compete in July’s Allstate Cup in Orlando. He was also the 2018 News-Press All-Area Player of the Year.
Perez has volunteered locally as a youth soccer coach. “Despite everyone knowing who he is and what he can do, he still finds a way to get to the ball and that’s when he’s at his best,” said Martin Cardenas, head coach of Mariner High. “Leo with the ball at his feet is unlike any other player I’ve coached in the last 26 years. He is glued to that ball and just does things that are not in the script.”
Perez has maintained a weighted 3.90 GPA in the classroom. He will begin his senior year of high school 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. From the 12 national winners, one male and one female athlete are each named Gatorade High School Athlete of the Year. In all, 607 athletes are honored each year.”
Please join all of us at CCSA in congratulating Leo on this tremendous achievement. His leadership on the field as well as on the sidelines as a volunteer coach are a great tribute to Leo and his family, and we are thankful to have him as part of the CCSA family.
View Leo’s Gatorade Player of the Year profile by clicking here.
