Archive for the ‘WVU Men's Soccer’ Category

Ray Gaddis was the 35th pick in the MLS SuperDraft Thursday. (Photo: MLSSoccer.com)

Today is Ray Gaddis’ birthday.

The former WVU defender has been very influential in making the West Virginia men’s soccer program one of the best in the country over the course of the last four years and he was rewarded for all of that work by getting selected in the second round of the MLS SuperDraft yesterday by the Philadelphia Union.

When I talked to Ray Thursday night and he told me his birthday was Friday, that got me thinking, could there really be a better birthday present than that?

Let’s think about it for a second: He’s worked hard practically for his entire life in the game of soccer with the goal of, one day, getting to play at the professional level. And then a day before your birthday that dream comes true and all of that hard work pays off.

That’s definitely pretty awesome, I think.

It was a treat covering Ray when I got to cover the men’s soccer team a year ago. He was a great guy to talk to and was fantastic to watch. He was easily one of the most electrifying players I’ve gotten to cover in my time at The DA (in any sport, including football and basketball) and made a huge impact in just about every game he played in a Mountaineer uniform.

When I talked to LeBlanc, we spoke about the impact that Gaddis had on the men’s soccer program as a whole.

“Everybody kind of looked at him and saw what he was doing from the right back position to impact our game,” LeBlanc said.

“Outside of the physical characteristics of what he can do from an athletic perspective, it’s the character intangibles that really set him apart from the great majority of people out there. He’s a very focused young man who’s going to work his socks off every day.”

Congratulations to Ray for getting drafted, and being the highest draft pick in WVU men’s soccer history. That’s quite an accomplishment.

And quite a birthday present, too.