Extra Effort: Rosewood's Reece Gery always willing to lend a helping "foot"

In soccer goals get all the glory, but sometimes the pass is the most important part.

"I think I've always had a knack for passing," Reece Gery said. "I think that's just a skill I developed."

As a junior at Rosewood High School, Gery set a NCHSAA record with 59 assists and led the Eagles to a 1A State Championship appearance.

"Reece's vision is tremendous, he sees everything on the field and part of that is he's constantly looking," Rosewood head coach Eddie Maldonado said. "One of the best ways I can describe it coming from other people they say 'we love watching Reece because he knows where everyone is at.'"

At a Rosewood summer work out you'll hear and see Gery in constant communication with his teammates trying to set up plays and make sure they are in the best position to score.

"Make sure when ya'll run you run a little wider," Gery motioned to his teammates during a drill. "Because then that second person will be coming to the back post."

For Maldonado, it's almost like having another coach on the field.

"It's definitely part of his personality," Maldonado said.

The unselfish play and leadership extend to how Gery conducts himself off the field too. He trains kids in the Goldsboro area and will coach a youth team this fall.

"I love helping people and I love meeting their families and talking to them," Gery said.

"He'd much rather work with the younger kids," Maldonado said. "When we do our ball drills when we do our daily drills any kind of activity he's constantly giving instructions, he's constantly trying to improve the players around him."

Gery's willingness to always lend a helping "foot" earned him WRAL's Tom Suiter Extra Effort Award.

"I enjoy scoring, but honestly I love assists I love being a playmaker, I love seeing the pass that other people don't see," Gery said.