Boys lacrosse player of the year
Nicky Solomon, Centennial
Achievements: Two-time Georgia Lacrosse All-American; 400 career points.
Position: Attacker
Height/Weight: 5-foot-10, 185 pounds
Class: Junior
College choice: Committed to North Carolina
Why North Carolina: It has one of the top lacrosse programs in the country. The campus is really nice, and it has great academics. I've been there four or five times, and the moment I stepped on campus, I knew I wanted to go there and play for the coaches. They're super cool, and it's a great family atmosphere. Everything is perfect. My brother (2015 AJC Player of the Year Nathan Solomon) plays at Syracuse, and I was going to visit there, but I committed to UNC the week before (during the summer of 2013, before his eighth-grade year).
Best high school moment: Scoring an overtime goal against Pope. We were down two or three goals with a couple of minutes left, and I tied it at 10-10 with two minutes left in regulation, and then two minutes into overtime, I scored the game-winner. Pope was undefeated at the time, and they were beating some good teams. We played them right after losing to Lambert, so that brought us confidence.
Why lacrosse: Early on, I played travel soccer my whole life. Then my brother and I went to lacrosse camp when I was 6, and we've stuck with it ever since. Lacrosse is played during same season as soccer, so I chose lacrosse.
What you'd like to be doing in 10 years: Running my own business while playing Major League Lacrosse. MLL has a local team in the Atlanta Blaze, but it wouldn't matter where I played. I want to run my own business because I like to oversee everything that's going on, and I like to lead. I'd like to do anything involving sports and business.
Favorite high school course: Chemistry — because I like learning about different things involving science, how things work and how they react. That's interesting to me. Science could be my major, but I haven't really thought about that yet. Maybe sports medicine or something similar.
People who helped along the way: My family; Liam Banks, owner of LBIII, a travel lacrosse team. He played lacrosse at Syracuse, and my high school coach, Bryan Wallace.
Toughest high school opponent: Lambert — because they always have a good coaching staff. They have many kids try out and play for them each year, so they're deep. We lost twice to them this year and once last year, but we beat them my freshman year.
Favorite movie: "Step Brothers" because Will Ferrell is the funniest actor in America and this is his best movie, I think.
Favorite song: "The Time is Now" by John Cena, because it's the song our team takes the field to. It's a fast-paced song that gets everyone pumped up. It's from WWE wrestling.
Worst high school moment: Losing in the quarterfinals to Harrison in my freshman year by one goal. That was the only year I got to play varsity with my brother before he graduated.
If you could be any other athlete on Earth: LeBron James, because he can do everything on the court. He's dominant.
Money or happiness: Happiness — because you don't need money to be happy. You can be happy without money.
Best word to describe yourself: Sarcastic. I'm an outgoing kid, and I'm almost never mad. I always smile on my face. I like to joke around and be happy. My whole life I've been that way (sarcastic), so that could be a bad thing or a good thing, depending on how others react to it.
View of the world at this moment: I really don't know this world yet. I know there's both sides to a story. I'm pretty content. We can do anything in this world. We can breathe on our own and do anything we put our minds to.
What you would put in a time capsule: My lacrosse stick — because it's something I do every day, and it's something I love.
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