"SportsKid of the Year" was introduced by Sports Illustrated magazine after the highly successful Sportsman of the Year award was introduced in 1954. The "SportsKid of the Year" award honors a young athlete, ages seven to fifteen, for superior performance on the field, in the classroom and service in the community.
In addition to being featured exclusively on the December Sports Illustrated Kids cover, the "SportsKid of the Year" receives a profile article and fold-out poster in the issue. The SportsKid is also honored at Sports Illustrated annual Sportsman of the Year celebration in New York City and in 2011 was featured on Cartoon Network's "Hall of Game" in Los Angeles.
The award has been given to the following recipients:
Year Winner(s) Sport(s) Age(s) Ref 2007 Brock Heffron BMX 10 2008 Derek Andrews Baseball, soccer, hockey, basketball, gymnastics, and swimming 8 2009 Austin McCarthy Hockey 10 2010 Jessica Aney Tennis and hockey 12 2011 Noah Flegel Wakeboarding 14 2012 Conner and Cayden Long Triathlon 9, 7 2013 Jack Wellman Wrestling 14 2014 Mo'ne Davis Baseball 13 2015 Reece Whitley Swimming 15 2016 Tai, Rainn, and Brooke Sheppard Track 11, 10, 9 2017 Maxwell "Bunchie" Young Football and track 10 2018 Leah Hayes Swimming 13 2019 Ally Sentnor Soccer 15 2020 JuJu Watkins Basketball 15 2021 Zaila Avant-garde Basketball, spelling 14 2022 Carter Bonas Golf 11 2023 Fifi Garcia Soccer, softball, track, volleyball, and basketball 11 2024 Arden Pala Basketball 15 2025 Chyna Taylor Ice hockey 16
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