Grapevine midfielder earns national player of the week honors

Chad Sahinkaya received a very special honor recently when he was selected as the national player of the week by TopDrawerSoccer.com.

The Grapevine high school midfielder scored seven goals over the span of three games to win the award and was one of two players nationwide to be recognized for his week.

Sahinkaya said that winning the award meant a lot to him and said that it is still something that has not yet completely sunk in.

“It’s an amazing honor,” Sahinkaya said. “I’ve been working really hard with my high school team after I quit my academy team, which was a tough decision for me. But, it’s obviously paying off, because I am doing really well.”

Sahinkaya had played with the Development Academy’s Dallas Texans teams until this season, but quit in order to focus on high school soccer.

Sahinkaya said that he found about the honor from his mother.

“I woke up one morning, and I had a bunch of texts from my mom,” Sahinkaya said. “So I looked at it, and it was the link to the web site. I looked at it and was just like, ‘Wow,’ it felt amazing. It was right when I woke up.”

The recognition and accolades did not stop there, either.

“Whenever I got to soccer practice, at first I didn’t say anything,” Sahinkaya said. “And then Coach (Heath) Bullard was like, ‘Chad, do you have anything you’d like to say to the team?’ So I told the team and they were all really excited for me.”

Bullard said that it is a tremendous accomplishment to be selected as the National Player of the Week and said that he is very proud of Sahinkaya for his accomplishment.

“He has been outstanding for us all season long,” Bullard said. “He has done a great job scoring goals and being a big offensive presence on the field and nobody deserves this more than him.”

Bullard said he does have a goal for Sahinkaya for the season, as well.

“I want him to keep it up,” Bullard laughed.

Sahinkaya was ranked third in total goals in the state among 4A, 5A and 6A players heading into this week’s game with a total of 17, and said his goal this season is to be an all-state selection.

“Right now I am trying to be named first team all-district and the district MVP, because that’s my goal right now,” Sahinkaya said. “Obviously, once district is over, I am looking towards regionals and state.”

Sahinkaya has been approached by numerous colleges, but is not sure where he wants to commit just yet.

As the No. 126 player in the IMG Top 150 class of 2016, he’s one of the highest-ranked high school players in the nation.

This story was originally published March 2, 2015 at 3:10 PM with the headline "Grapevine midfielder earns national player of the week honors."