Emma Brooke Levering hauled in her second consecutive Gatorade Player of the Year award for cross country last month after 2024 graduate Will Jackson claimed the same accolade for soccer in June.
This is one of the most prestigious honors for high school athletes, and each year Gatorade chooses a male and female athlete from every sport to win this national distinction. Along with national recognition, award winners are granted $1,000 to donate to any local or national youth sports organization of their choosing.
This year, Levering was presented with the award for the second time in two years for cross country. However, she isn’t getting complacent. Her personal goals include setting new personal records and getting faster and stronger.
“You have doubts about yourself no matter how good you get,” Levering said.
But she added that she does “hold this award in [her] heart,” largely because it’s an honor for her to join Will Stone and Lainey Phelps on the list of former Patriots who also won the award multiple times in cross country.
Jackson, now a freshman soccer player at Wake Forest University, was announced the male Gatorade Player of the Year over the summer and is the first male soccer player at Homewood to receive the award. He captained the varsity boys’ soccer team to the state championship win last May.
However, after his national recognition, he’s now adjusting to the challenges of Division 1 soccer. He said while he’s proud of the award, his focus is fully back on personal growth.
“I’m in the phase where it’s a lot of individual development,” Jackson said. “It just starts over after high school, you have to build up your reputation.”
As he grows on the collegiate level, he reminds himself to remain humble amidst expectations and offers that advice to other young athletes.
“One of the most important things to remember is to just be yourself,” Jackson said. “[That] pushes you forward, and honestly also makes you confident, like you’re in the right space to be successful.”
Levering will also compete in the NCAA Division 1 next year as she has committed to Penn State. Pushing performance to the level of Gatorade Player of the Year awards and Division 1 athletics comes with constant pressure.
Levering said there’s more to achieving this level than talent and hardwork, citing time management as a major factor.
“You have to learn how to divvy up your time so that you’re putting work not just into athletics, but also sleep, recovery and school,” she said.
Similarly, Jackson said that you can’t expect any championships, personal accolades or awards to come easy.
“It’s going to take a lot of grinding and a lot of hours outside of what you know is required from your sport,” he said.
And while Jackson has aspiration of playing at the professional level, he isn’t hung up on that destination and prefers to focus on the journey.
“I’m always going to try to push myself to be my absolute best in soccer, because I love it so much, and I’ll just see where that takes me,” he said. “So if I put forth all the effort I can to being my absolute best and professional is the next step for me, I’m going to take it. If it’s not, then it’s not. That’s my mindset, just to continue to grow.”
As a senior in high school, Levering has learned many lessons to help propel her down this demanding athletic path, and one of those is appreciation.
“A big lesson for me is just being grateful for what you have in the moment,” she said.
