By Jared Sugerman

ENTERPRISE STAFF WRITER

Posted May 08, 2008 @ 02:04 AM

BROCKTON —

Michael Gomes is a senior at Brockton High School, and he would be special if he were nothing more than that. His work in the classroom helped him secure the top grade point average in his class, and earn admittance to Yale, which he passed up, choosing instead to go to Harvard.

But Gomes has also distinguished himself outside the classroom.

He has played varsity soccer for four years, and he has also captained the indoor and outdoor track teams during his junior and senior seasons.

At Harvard, Gomes plans to continue his soccer career, but he admits that giving up track will not be easy.

“I really had trouble picking between track and soccer,” Gomes said.

“Basically, I’m going to put all my effort into soccer in college, and if that doesn’t work out for me, I’ll probably fall back on track.”

Gomes earned a spot on the Enterprise All-Scholastic boys indoor track team after his last season of indoor track at Brockton High, when he ran a personal best 1:24:84 in the 600, good enough for seventh at the state championships.

“These seniors only have about 20 days of school left, and he’s still not happy with his times” said Brian Hoffman, head coach of the Brockton boys track team.

“He never will be. He’s that kind of a perfectionist. It’s not something that he was taught, it’s just a quality he has in him.”

Gomes’ work on the soccer pitch has earned him a place on the Soccer Scholar All-East regional team, as well as the Big-Three all-star team.

“He knows how to play the game,” said Rick Robens, the Boxers’ soccer coach. “In practice settings, he has good control of the ball and a decent shot.

“If you have the tools, it’s just applying them to the game.”

Harvard and Yale admissions officers believe that Gomes has the tools to succeed academically at an Ivy League institution, and Gomes thinks that he has the tools to compete athletically at a Div. 1 school.

But to do that, Gomes knows that he will have to lighten his extracurricular load.

“Everyone really has limits,” Gomes said.

“I always thought that I would be able to do soccer and track in college, but I know that I’m going to a Div. 1 school, and I won’t be able to do both because they require year-long commitments and one takes away from the other.”

In high school, Gomes was also a member of the marching band, wind ensemble, jazz club, and Conservative club.

“He understands how all the different things in his life that he works hard at will make him a better person,” said Hoffman.

“When other kids get involved in a sport, they tend to not see, as a young kid, how and why it will benefit them.”

Though he remained committed to a myriad of organizations, Gomes always maintained the priorities that were laid out by his father, Jose.

“He’s always said that doing well in school is what’s going to help me get into college,” Michael said.

“He knew that if I didn’t do well in school, then there’s no chance of me playing soccer in college because I wouldn’t be going to college.”

Michael says that his father is his role model. In addition to making sure his son understood the importance of education, Jose helped Michael develop his soccer skills.

“When I need help with soccer, he’ll take me out to the field and he’ll train me for a few hours,” Michael said.

Jose Gomes worked with the Stonehill College soccer teams for 19 years, serving as head coach of both the men’s and women’s squads.

“There’s a lot of pressure, but I’ve always wondered what I could do if I just focused on soccer or track,” Gomes said.

“But I think that because I was so spread out it helped me get into the colleges I applied to, and now I’m just going to try to focus on one or the other so, hopefully, I’ll be able to do a lot better.”

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=810817&forum_id=1#9754387)