STARKVILLE — Last year, Conner McKee watched Starkville Academy soccer teammates Will Goodwin and Roy Miles sign soccer scholarships.
He was determined to be the next Volunteer to move on to the next level.
Goodwin and Miles were the unquestioned leaders of a squad that won more than 10 games and finished the regular season undefeated in 2010.
As a senior this season, McKee knew he”d have to improve and provide the same type of leadership for a young squad.
After playing more than 900 minutes and scoring seven goals as a midfielder, McKee”s effort landed him a scholarship offer from Meridian Community College.
McKee signed his National Letter of Intent last week and was honored Thursday with a ceremony on the Starkville Academy campus.
“Last year, I had two of my good friends go to ICC (Itawamba C.C.),” McKee said, “and I told myself when I was in their shoes, I wanted to have that opportunity. I feel like I”ve fulfilled it. I”ve had a lot more on me.”
McKee enters MCC with four others, including Lamar School standout Tripp Sims. Although he played outside midfielder for the Volunteers, he hopes to move to forward, his natural position.
MCC lost Jamaican forwards Leon Powell and Valentino Fogo, who combined to score 32 goals last season.
Starkville Academy coach Robert Gardner struggled with the decision to play him in midfield.
“I always wanted to play him across the front line, which is more natural for him,” Gardner said. “But he always did well in wide areas. He never had anything to complain about.”
Gardner, who completed his first season in charge of the Volunteers, said McKee made an early impression during training. He was confident McKee, one of just four experienced seniors, would help lead the team”s 14 freshmen and sophomores. He helped the Volunteers to an 8-6 record and a berth in the Mississippi Association of Independent Schools Class AAA playoffs.
“That”s something you need with any team, and that was something he stepped up as,” Gardner said. “When we voted for our captains, he was one of our two captains. You expect great things for him. He only got better as the year went on.”
McKee initially wanted to join Miles and Goodwin at ICC after having a coach travel to watch one of the team”s games. The match was canceled and he never received an offer.
MCC scouted Starkville Academy”s game at Lamar School, and an assistant coach set up a campus tour and offered McKee a scholarship.
As the sixth player from the school to sign a soccer scholarship in the past three seasons, McKee hopes he has helped keep the Volunteers” foundation strong.
“As I grew up and played since seventh grade, I”ve seen guys doing the same thing I”m doing,” McKee said. “The one thing I”d tell the next guys is always work as hard in practice as you go in the game. The harder you work, the harder your team has to work.”
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