Space Coast United’s Max May named “Mr. Soccer” in the state of Florida
Max May, a member of Coach Ian McGimsey’s U18/U19 Boys ECNL team with Space Coast United, was recently named “Mr. Soccer” in the state of Florida for his work in helping to lead Viera High School to a Florida High School Athletic Association Class 6A state championship this season.
May, who is a junior at the school, earned the award by virtue of two votes by statewide media and district chairmen through the Florida Dairy Farmers High School Sports Awards program.
“Winning it, it’s pretty amazing,” May said. “It’s not something I would say I anticipated happening but it’s an honor to have won something that prestigious.”
According to MaxPreps, May, who stars as an attacking player for the team, scored 20 goals and accrued 22 assists for Viera High School this season. The Hawks, who finished the season with a sterling 21-0-1 record, defeated Ft. Myers 4-2 in late February to win the championship.
“Especially in that big of a game, I mean in that moment I just kind of broke down,” May said. “It’s what you work so hard for, for as long as you did. Our season was 4, maybe 5 months and we tried 5-6 days a week for the entire length of it. Putting that much time and effort into it, it’s about the best giveback it could be.”
May’s role on his team at SCU is different in he plays defense, giving him a very unique and valued skill set when paired with his offensive prowess that he hopes will help him stand out to colleges as looks to the future.
“There’s a lot of colleges that play formations that are a little out of the ordinary, so they’d have say a right wingback if they played a 3-5-2 and that’s a role I guess my skill set really stands out in,” May said.
McGimsey believes his training at SCU has helped him grow as a player as well.
“His teammates have helped him develop with a high standard at training everyday,” McGimsey said. “Iron sharpens iron.”
May, who says he has been with the club since he was a toddler, offered praise for others he has worked with at SCU.
“I’ve had so many amazing coaches and I’ve been given so many opportunities with the club to train with older players, older teams and that’s helped me a lot to, I’d say play at a higher level. And I’d say my team, they’ve put me in a situation where I could shine.”
He specifically noted his affinity for McGimsey coaching style.
“It’s Ian’s first year at Space Coast and he’s someone I think our entire team enjoys just ‘cause he’s a younger guy, we get along with him really well, he jokes with us but he pushes us in training. We have a very good team dynamic this year and I think a lot of it is thanks to him,” May said.
May also added that he’s had a great time playing with teammates that have been with him both at SCU and VHS.
“I’ve grown up with so many guys that are actually on my high school team, a couple being Max Walker, Alvey Kaufman, Gabe Shelton and those are some players that I think since like U9, the first year you can play comp soccer at Space Coast, we’ve always been on the same team and I think that that correlates over to high school a lot because when you have those groups of older upperclassmen that can bring a team together and really lead that team, May said. “There’s a lot that goes on behind that.”