The Gatorade Player of the Year awards are given annually to up and coming

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

student-athletes in the United States. They are given for boys'

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

, boys' and girls'

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

, boys' and girls' cross country, boys' football, boys' and girls' soccer, boys' and girls'

track & field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

, girls'

softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...

, and girls'

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Sum ...

. A "State Player of the Year" award is given to the best student-athlete in each of the twelve sports in the

District of Columbia ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

and each of the fifty states, where each sport is recognized as an interscholastic sport. Selection is based on three criteria: athletic achievement, academic excellence, and exemplary character (including

sportsmanship Sportsmanship is an aspiration or ethos that a sport, or activity will be enjoyed for its own sake. This is with proper consideration for fairness, ethics, respect, and a sense of fellowship with one's competitors. A "sore loser" refers to o ...

, and participation in community and other activities). Twelve "National Player of the Year" awards are then given, to the best student-athlete in each of the twelve sports, chosen from the state winners in the respective sport. Finally, one male

Athlete of the Year Athlete of the Year is an award given by various sports organizations for the athlete whom they have determined to be deserving of such recognition. Definition of "athlete" *In many nations, an "athlete" primarily refers to someone who participat ...

and one female Athlete of the Year are selected from the twelve National Player of the Year recipients. The two winners are voted on by a national panel that includes approximately 400

sports journalists Sports journalism is a form of writing that reports on matters pertaining to sporting topics and competitions. Sports journalism started in the early 1800s when it was targeted to the social elite and transitioned into an integral part of the n ...

coaches Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

, and others. The two athletes of the year receive their awards at a special ceremony prior to The

ESPY Awards An ESPY Award (short for Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Award) is an accolade currently presented by the American broadcast television network ABC, and previously ESPN (as of the 2017 ESPY Awards the latter still airs them in the form ...

, in Los Angeles, California. The Gatorade Company established these awards in 1986. The selection process was administered by ESPN RISE, which was ESPN's division for high-school sports. The selection process is currently administered by the Gatorade Player of the Year Selection Committee. Past national winners include Peyton Manning and Emmitt Smith for football,

LeBron James LeBron Raymone James Sr. (; born December 30, 1984) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "King James", he is widely considered one of the greatest p ...

and Kobe Bryant for basketball, Allyson Felix for track and field, and

Kerri Walsh Kerri Lee Walsh Jennings (born August 15, 1978) is an American professional beach volleyball player, three-time Olympic gold medalist, and a one-time Olympic bronze medalist. She is the beach volleyball leader in career victories as of 2016 ha ...

for volleyball.