Amar Culov’s mother woke up her son at 8:30 a.m. Friday so they could have coffee together.
As the two sipped their beverages, Amar checked his phone and noticed he received a message from Gatorade on Instagram, to which he said aloud, “Oh my God, it’s Gatorade.”
He had an idea why they were messaging him, but he unlocked his phone to look at the full message to make sure his thinking was correct. The sports-themed beverage company notified Culov that he was named the 2024 Gatorade New York Boys Soccer Player of the Year. He’s believed to be the first East Aurora athlete to win the award.
“As soon as my friends and family found out, they were going crazy,” Culov said. “It’s another accolade, but it amounts to everything that happened for East Aurora. Everything we fought for was for East Aurora and raise awareness for East Aurora and Western New York soccer.”
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A lot of praise has been directed toward East Aurora this school year thanks to Culov. The boys soccer team won the New York State Public High School Athletic Association Class B state championship. Culov was named to the United Soccer Coaches All-America team, the third Blue Devils player to receive the honor. Coach Kevin Beale was selected as the Small School Regional Coach of the Year. Culov, along with teammates Chuck Meyer and Sam Evans, were named to the small school all-state team. The team received the seventh annual Butler Mitchell Alumni Excellence Award by the Butler Mitchell Alumni Association.
Last season, Culov led East Aurora in goals (33) and assists (18). In the playoffs, he had 12 goals and seven assists. He will continue his career at Vassar College and looks to walk on to the team, which is Division III.
“This is something that’s a part of history for our town and history for Western New York,” Culov said. “These accolades are great and getting the recognition I thought I deserved going in but I’m doing this for East Aurora.”
Culov credits Beale for nominating him for the award. When the coach told him about it, Culov didn’t like his chances of winning because he’s at a small school and there are so many players in the state going on to play college soccer. Beale believed and persisted, and made sure Culov provided him with his latest transcripts.
“He changed his attitude and game this year,” Beale said. “Being the state player of the year for a small school, you don’t see that too often. They gave a great honor to a kid that did so much for his team.”