Richmond, Va. – Central Virginia commonly has a number of soccer gamers transfer on to play on the highest ranges of the game in faculty. On this, the primary 12 months of an expanded School Soccer Playoff, two of the area’s greatest are main their groups to this week’s semifinals.
Atlee’s Tyler Warren is setting information as a decent finish at Penn State whereas Hopewell’s Treveon Henderson is doing the identical at operating again for Ohio State. Each have performed vital roles of their group’s success to date and neither have shocked their highschool head coach with what they’ve achieved.
“As soon as he bought his shot, he was going to have the ability to do what we thought he was able to doing” mentioned Atlee’s Matt Grey of Warren, who received the John Mackey Award because the nation’s greatest tight finish this 12 months. “He’s a expertise, however we knew that.”
“We’re tremendous excited for Tre” added Hopewell head coach Ricky Irby. “We’re tremendous happy with him however nothing has shocked me. Anybody who noticed him in highschool knew how good he was and the way good he was going to be.”
Warren has set the Penn State single season file for receptions and has scored in a number of methods from a number of positions, very similar to he did for the Raiders again at Atlee the place he performed quarterback primarily, as a result of Grey wished the ball in his fingers on each play.
“He was most likely our greatest security” Grey recalled. “We lined him up at tight finish and broad receiver. One recreation, he threw for a landing, ran for a landing, had a sack as a defensive finish and blocked a punt.”
Henderson received a state title for Irby and the Blue Devils as a senior and has performed by way of a number of accidents, together with a damaged foot which required surgical procedure and sidelined him for five video games in 2022 and one other harm that saved him out of three video games in 2023. Perseverance, expertise and a renewed religious religion have saved him in Columbus and saved him on the sphere the place he set a Buckeye bowl file with a 66 yard scoring run in opposition to Oregon within the Rose Bowl.
“His loyalty was a giant issue” Irby mentioned. “Him being led to the Lord and his religion performed a giant half. I feel he had a tricky dialog with coach Ryan Day and the workers however Ohio State was at all times the fitting place for him.”
Every group has watched with pleasure and pleasure as each Warren and Henderson not solely go to the semifinals, however play main roles in serving to their groups maybe face off within the remaining recreation of the season later this month.
“We actually rally round our function fashions” Irby defined. “Tre is a superb function mannequin not just for our faculty however our group. It is cool to see on social media and out within the public to see the affect he makes not simply on soccer gamers however on the group on the whole.”
“Once we depart the locker room on the soccer stadium for a recreation, I see individuals with 44 jerseys” added Grey. “I do know there’s youngsters that put on them right here. That is a singular factor.”
Each coaches maintain in common contact with Warren and Henderson, however the conversations are nearly by no means about soccer. They examine in about faculty, life, household, something apart from Xs and Os. And every of their communities curiosity and pleasure is magnified due to the kind of man every participant has grow to be.
“He is a category act” Grey mentioned of Warren, who has already earned two undergraduate levels at Penn State. “What places a bow on prime of all that is that everybody is aware of as an individual, you possibly can’t get a lot better.”
“I feel that provides lots to it” Irby added. “The kind of character that (Henderson) has. The kind of particular person and religion primarily based dedication that he has. He is only a nice child.”
