male ATHLETE of the year - Gabriel johner

Gabe last November went to the ECNL National Selection Game

This year's Boys Athlete of the Year goes to the Senior, Gabriel Johner because of his spectacular performance in multiple sports. When we asked him how he felt about winning this award he said ¨I feel very honored, and thank you to everyone who helped make that happen.¨ Throughout Gabe’s senior year at Estancia High School, not only was he a member of each of these varsity teams: tennis, soccer, football and basketball, but he played a pivotal role as a respected teammate, skilled player, and leader. Over the course of the school year, Gabe showed immense hard work and dedication to the school and the clubs he is involved in. As if being a standout athlete on his school's varsity teams wasn't enough, outside of school, Gabe played club soccer for the Pateadores SC. 

One of the many reasons why he was awarded Athlete of the Year by the Estancia Head of Sports was that in addition to being a four-sport athlete, which is an incredible accomplishment on its own, Gabe also had to balance academic, social, and family life. For many students that would be difficult enough to handle without being overwhelmed. He was able to maintain that balance and always found additional time to support his teammates, students, and friends, always representing Estancia with pride. 

Gabe’s teammates attribute his success to his positive mindset stated by his varsity soccer teammate, Emmanuel Negrete, ¨ I see a lot of confidence whenever he plays. He`s never really scared. It is not just on the field that he is a good player but also off, he is a respectable person.” He went on to praise his teammate, also sharing ¨I think he´s a great person. He's really cool with everyone and he picks up the team when we're down, we're low, we're losing. ¨ 

All his hard work did not go unseen, as college sports programs across the country took notice of Gabe´s accomplishments. With the school year coming to an end the seniors start to focus on their future and attending college. Gabe's next step is going to the University of Nebraska-Omaha, since he signed his National Letter of Intent, a commitment to play for their Division 1 soccer team. When asked about how he feels about committing to the college he said ¨ I'm really nervous, but I'm really excited because it's gonna be a lot of hard work, but, you know, if I put the hard work in, it's gonna be really fun.¨ For the soccer players and athletes that are here or will be freshman at Estancia, he has some words of advice, ¨Make sure you guys work hard! Do stuff on your own outside of school and whatever sports you're involved in because if you don't put in that extra work, you're not going to stand out.¨ And with his talent, determination, and  hard work, we believe that this is only the beginning of a bright future for our Athlete of the Year.