State Gazette Boys Soccer Offensive Player of the Year: Dyersburg Trojan Nick Medlin

JASON PEEVYHOUSE

jpeevyhouse@stategazette.com

With a season on the pitch which saw him become the first option for scoring for the Trojans during their run to the TSSAA Class AA Sectional Round, Dyersburg senior Nick Medlin has been named the State Gazette Boys Soccer Offensive Player of the Year for the 2024 season.

When asked what Medlin brought to the Trojans during his final season on the pitch as a high school player, Dyersburg Head Coach Musa Manneh had an easy answer.

“The simple answer is a whole lot of goals,” Manneh said. “I knew that Nick would be a factor.

“He’s played with me for the better part of ten years because of travel ball and school ball. He’s a very, very good player and very comfortable in providing situations and chances for people to score.”

Manneh added before this year, Medlin was never known to be that top goal scorer.

“He would get the assist, set the team up and that’s a very important role,” the Trojan head coach explained. “This year, the script was flipped.

“This guy scored 42 goals. Easily, he was one of our most improved players even though he was the best player in the squad. But, he was still our most improved player because that’s how much of an impact he had on our team.”

Manneh added it was good to see a senior player like Medlin step up into this role.

“For any team, really, for you to go anywhere, you need that senior composure and seniors taking charge,” Manneh said. “You really do need that.

“He, basically, took it to the nth degree. He put our team on his back. There was a stretch of four games where nobody score but him.”

On the strength of streaks like that as well as scoring 42 goals during his final season in black and gold, Medlin was also named the District 13AA Offensive Most Valuable Player.

“That’s why I wanted it so bad for him to go to state,” Manneh admitted. “Because he would have capped it with a run to state.

“He had one of the most amazing seasons.”

While statistics do catch the eyes of fans, players, and media alike, coaches can also see things that others do not.

“I am telling you, I call it the ‘twitch’,” Manneh explained. “He is quicker than the average high school player.

“His burst to go forward – and, he’s always had that – this year, he added finishing to that. That combination, I thought, was one of his difference makers. He is unusually quick.”

Manneh added Medlin could be a bit volatile in the past but, this past season, he worked on his relationship with his head coach.

“He worked hard at establishing a rapport with me to where we could talk about it when things were starting to flare up,” Dyersburg’s head coach explained. “He would be like ‘alright, we’ve got to bundle up’.

“You could see he grew up a lot, even in talking to his teammates. He gave us very, very good leadership.”

When it comes to legacies, it, fittingly, goes back to the goals Medlin scored this past season.

“I think he will be remembered for scoring 42 goals in a season,” Manneh added. “That’s no easy feat.”

And, Manneh agreed a portion of the legacy would also be the percentage of his team’s goals he scored.

“I don’t know if anyone else scored double figures,” Manneh admitted. “We’re talking about a differential of over 32 goals between him and the next person.

“Don’t get me wrong, he’s the head of the snake. Everybody was working hard to get everything there for him to finish. Just knowing Nick and knowing how comfortable he was at being the provider – to being able to flip it and become this lethal goal-scorer – it was fantastic. I enjoyed it. When I see him now I just put my arm around his neck and we just laugh about it. He knows that’s not how he played the game. But, this year, he made the decision to come and impact the season. And, he did.”