Cooper Allen knew that his final season at Morgan County was going to be successful.
Despite losing to Coahulla Creek again in the Class AAA state playoffs, he was satisfied with his team’s success, especially after overcoming so many obstacles.
In the process, Allen earned the GHSA Region 4-AAA Player of Year honor.
“It’s something that I didn’t expect,” Allen said. “So, it means a lot because I had put in the work to get to where I am now. However, it’s not an award that I expected to get.”
Allen learned that he was receiving the award during the team’s end-of-the-year banquet.
He said he was called up on stage and MCHS head coach Aaron Paul surprised him with it.
“I didn’t even know about it (the award) until coach Paul presented me with it,” Allen added. “He told me to stay up on stage after other presentations, and I was like, ‘maybe I got the Coaches Award.’ However, that’s when he presented me with the Region Player of the Year Award. I definitely was surprised.”
Cooper became the fourth player from Morgan County to earn the honor in the last five years.
He said that he couldn’t have done it without his teammates.
“They all congratulated me and I am super thankful to have them as friends,” Allen said. “As I said, I was very surprised when I learned that I had won it. I really thought that one of my teammates would have earned the honor, but at least we got to keep the award in Morgan County for another season.”
The Morgan County boys’ soccer team graduated 10 total seniors this past Friday.
Each individual player made an impact at some point during their career for the Bulldogs.
Now, it’s up to the returning players to leave their mark on the program.
Allen acknowledged that this year’s senior class came into this season with a ‘serious’ attitude.
“One thing we tried to implement before the season was being more serious and more disciplined,” Allen said. “In the past, we had a natural talent and ability to run through teams. We could mess around at practice and we would allow some of our best players to miss practice. This year, our senior class was much better at holding each other accountable for things.”
Allen pointed out that he hopes this mentality can be sustained moving forward.
“We elevated the standard of discipline,” Allen said. “There was less cutting up and more soccer. There was more focus. Hopefully, that is something that can be maintained in the coming years. It was clear that we didn’t have the natural talent this year that we had last season. So, it meant we had to work harder, which actually helped us (as a program) build more character moving forward.”
Cooper is now moving on to the next step of his life after graduating from MCHS.
He will attend the University of Georgia in the fall and major in biology.
Following college, Cooper wants to attend medical school and join the workforce.
He said if that plan doesn’t work out, then he could see himself involved with soccer for a career, whether it’s coaching or playing.
“If I don’t end up enjoying UGA as much as everyone swears I will, I am going to go play college soccer somewhere after my first year,” Cooper said. “My passion for soccer is as high as it’s ever been. I’m actually currently playing for East Atlanta FC, which is based out of Rockdale County.”
Cooper stated that his goal is to eventually get moved up to the men’s team. “I’m making good
“I’m making good progress there right now,” Cooper said. “I’m still getting better and improving. I have great coaches there and they want me to continue playing soccer. So, those opportunities are still there. If I don’t end up going to play anywhere and this club team doesn’t work out, I will still try out for UGA’s club team.”