Park Hill's Lee named an All-American, being considered for Gatorade Player of the Year

Park Hill senior Ray Lee began his soccer career like many kids do in the area, playing in his local league, the Southern Platte County Athletic Association (SPCAA). He played on a team with kids in his neighborhood, some of which would play together with Lee through their high school careers. They would see success on the field unlike any team at Park Hill since the early 1990’s as they advanced to a third-place finish at state in 2009 and a quarterfinal appearance in 2010. Lee was named Missouri Class Three’s Offensive Player of the Year along with being named to the All-State team with three other teammates. His career accolades include multiple conference and district honors, but none compare to being named an All-American by the National Soccer Coaches Association recently as voted on by coaches throughout the state and compiled with the nation’s top high school soccer players. Additionally, he is now being considered for Gatorade’s Player of the Year, a national award.

While the recognition puts him among the top talent in the country, his approach to his team is what separates him from many of his acknowledged peers. When Lee stepped onto the practice field as a freshmen, he didn’t even know if he would play very much, but coach Dustin Sollars knew he had something.

“I didn’t expect to get minutes like I did that year because there were 12 seniors,” Lee said.

“What we found out early was that he was about as fast as anyone,” Sollars said. “He was great at making opponents miss. We knew he was a really athletic kid and it took a little while to see just how good he was going to be.”

As Lee excelled, he could have easily been scoring hoards of goals on opponents, but Sollars and the Trojans had the convenience of a solid group of players in Lee’s class to surround him with. It would have been easy to position Lee in the front of the offense, but his ability combined with his knowledge of the game and composure made him a more enabling leader in the middle. No matter what Lee always found himself around the ball whether it was scoring, assisting, or just leading. He had 12 goals this past season with 28 assists (41 goals, 73 assists in his career).

“It’s rare to have someone to act like a point guard on the soccer field,” Sollars said. “We were lucky to have players around him to the point where we could keep him in the middle. He could have scored a hundred goals with his accuracy, but we wouldn’t have been as good of a team.”

Lee says his teammates helped him become better and it fit perfectly with his team first mentality that isn’t a cliché to him.

“It helped me look good,” Lee said. “The team comes first and coach gets mad sometimes because he thinks I’m almost too unselfish.”

“It’s great for him to get the accolades but it wouldn’t have happened if it wasn’t for the other guys who made all-state that grew up together playing for their neighborhood team.

Lee is in the process of looking at D-I schools, which he says he definitely wants to do. Currently, he has only visited Drake and says he liked what he saw, but hopes to see more over the coming weeks. At this stage in the recruiting process, many teams have a majority of their roster spots filled and are looking for specific roles.

“One of the best things about him is that he is very athletic, understands the game and he sees things well. I’ve even talked to coaches about him being a D-I defender. His capabilities transcend any position on the field. He has a great shot in the front along with good vision and passing in the middle,” Sollars said.

After being awarded an All-American, Lee still recognizes the reason he started soccer, because it was fun, which is something he hopes younger kids remember.

“I’d tell them to just have fun. If you really like it, try hard because its gonna take practice,” Lee said.

To say getting to where he is required hard work would be an understatement. It goes back to the same year he stepped on the field as a freshmen. Him and teammate Joel Gordon really bought into the new weight program Sollars began implementing that year and their coach recognized it right off the bat.

“He and Joel, seemed like they just took to it. They liked it and worked hard. I told myself at the time that if anyone had a chance to play in college it would be them. Not because they were better or more talented, but because they were willing to work hard,” Sollars said. “The college coaches I talk to are amazed he is 175, that comes from the weight room.”

It’s something Sollars hopes to preach to future players whether they be seventh graders or incoming seniors: what to do if you want to achieve something. And still at the end of the day, character is what separates this All-American from many of the others.

“It always sounds good to say team comes first, but he really believes it. He only had 12 goals, third on our team. You’ll see a lot of guys pad their stats, but he was still dishing the ball off, encouraging his teammates, and sitting on the bench to give younger kids the chance to play,” Sollars said.