In its 35th year of honoring the nation’s best high school athletes, The Gatorade Company announced Heath Flathau of Sacred Heart Catholic School as its 2019-20 Gatorade Mississippi Boys Soccer Player of the Year. Flathau is the first Gatorade Mississippi Boys Soccer Player of the Year to be chosen from Sacred Heart Catholic School.
“It means a lot to me and being able to put Sacred Heart on the map,” Flathau said. “We are more of a smaller school because we are 1A, so it’s good to show that we have some talent down here at a smaller school. It’s great to put that out there. It’s great to put my team out there because we had a great year. It feels really good to support my team, my school and everyone around me.”
The award, which recognizes outstanding athletic excellence and high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the field, distinguishes Flathau as Mississippi’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 June, Flathau joins an elite alumni association of state award-winners in 12 sports.
The 5-foot-9, 165-pound senior midfielder scored 20 goals and passed for 12 assists this past season, leading the Crusaders (18-2-3) to the Class 1A/2A/3A state championship. A Clarion-Ledger First Team All-State selection, Flathau was also the District MVP and the PineBeltSPORTS Co-Player of the Year.
“It’s a fantastic honor,” Sacred Heart coach Joe Falla Jr. said. “I couldn’t think of anyone else who deserves it more than he does. He is truly an example of what hard work does for you not only on the field but also in the classroom. We are extremely proud of him, and he is very deserving of the award.”
Flathau has volunteered locally on behalf of the U.S. Youth Soccer TOPSoccer program serving young athletes with disabilities.
“Heath Flathau is probably the most gifted technical player I’ve seen,” said Todd Siders, head coach at Sumrall High School. “He has a quickness on the ball that is rare and can change direction and pace on a dime. He has great field vision as well and distributes the ball with a lot of accuracy.”
Flathau has maintained a 4.0 GPA in the classroom. He has signed a National Letter of Intent to play soccer on scholarship at the University of Alabama-Birmingham.
“I’ve had so many coaches give me different pieces of advice,” Flathau said. “It’s kind of like putting together a puzzle. Coach (Falla) was instrumental in that as head coach and the assistant coaches. I couldn’t have done it without all my teammates and the seniors who helped me get to this. I mean one kid doesn’t win a state championship, and we all got together and go to that goal. That ultimately led to this one.”
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 the Gatorade Player of the Year Selection Committee, 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.
Flathau joins recent Gatorade Mississippi Boys Soccer Players of the Year Ashton LeBlanc (2018-19, Gulfport High School), Ashton LeBlanc (2017-18, Gulfport High School), Sumner Richardson (2016-17, Northwest Rankin High School), Ridge Brohaugh (2015-16, Madison Central High School), Wanner Paiz (2014-15, Terry High School), and Ridge Brohaugh (2013-14, Madison Central High School) among the state’s list of former award winners.
Since the program’s inception in 1985, Gatorade Player of the Year award recipients have won hundreds of professional and college championships, and many have also turned into pillars in their communities, becoming coaches, business owners and educators.
In its 35th year of honoring the nation’s best high school athletes, The Gatorade Company announced Heath Flathau of Sacred Heart Catholic School as its 2019-20 Gatorade Mississippi Boys Soccer Player of the Year. Flathau is the first Gatorade Mississippi Boys Soccer Player of the Year to be chosen from Sacred Heart Catholic School.
“It means a lot to me and being able to put Sacred Heart on the map,” Flathau said. “We are more of a smaller school because we are 1A, so it’s good to show that we have some talent down here at a smaller school. It’s great to put that out there. It’s great to put my team out there because we had a great year. It feels really good to support my team, my school and everyone around me.”
The award, which recognizes outstanding athletic excellence and high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the field, distinguishes Flathau as Mississippi’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 June, Flathau joins an elite alumni association of state award-winners in 12 sports.
The 5-foot-9, 165-pound senior midfielder scored 20 goals and passed for 12 assists this past season, leading the Crusaders (18-2-3) to the Class 1A/2A/3A state championship. A Clarion-Ledger First Team All-State selection, Flathau was also the District MVP and the Pine Belt Sports Player of the Year.
“It’s a fantastic honor,” Sacred Heart coach Joe Falla Jr. said. “I couldn’t think of anyone else who deserves it more than he does. He is truly an example of what hard work does for you not only on the field but also in the classroom. We are extremely proud of him, and he is very deserving of the award.”
Flathau has volunteered locally on behalf of the U.S. Youth Soccer TOPSoccer program serving young athletes with disabilities.
“Heath Flathau is probably the most gifted technical player I’ve seen,” said Todd Siders, head coach at Sumrall High School. “He has a quickness on the ball that is rare and can change direction and pace on a dime. He has great field vision as well and distributes the ball with a lot of accuracy.”
Flathau has maintained a 4.0 GPA in the classroom. He has signed a National Letter of Intent to play soccer on scholarship at the University of Alabama-Birmingham.
“I’ve had so many coaches give me different pieces of advice,” Flathau said. “It’s kind of like putting together a puzzle. Coach (Falla) was instrumental in that as head coach and the assistant coaches. I couldn’t have done it without all my teammates and the seniors who helped me get to this. I mean one kid doesn’t win a state championship, and we all got together and go to that goal. That ultimately led to this one.”
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 the Gatorade Player of the Year Selection Committee, 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.
Flathau joins recent Gatorade Mississippi Boys Soccer Players of the Year Ashton LeBlanc (2018-19, Gulfport High School), Ashton LeBlanc (2017-18, Gulfport High School), Sumner Richardson (2016-17, Northwest Rankin High School), Ridge Brohaugh (2015-16, Madison Central High School), Wanner Paiz (2014-15, Terry High School), and Ridge Brohaugh (2013-14, Madison Central High School) among the state’s list of former award winners.
Since the program’s inception in 1985, Gatorade Player of the Year award recipients have won hundreds of professional and college championships, and many have also turned into pillars in their communities, becoming coaches, business owners and educators.
