Oyster Bay High School Senior Matthew Schwartz was recognized by the Nassau County Soccer Coaches Association (NCSCA) for what the coaches consider their highest award, the Richard Daoust Memorial Scholarship.

Of all the awards given by the NCSCA, the Richard Daoust award has the most stringent criteria. It is a $500 scholarship awarded to one player chosen by the selection committee after carefully considering all applicants. The award is eligible to players meeting the following criteria: a graduating senior who has played two years of varsity soccer and possesses an academic average of 90 percent or higher, verified by official transcript or school guidance counselor. The candidate must also be an outstanding citizen who demonstrates participation in community service. Applicants must provide two letters of recommendation from someone other than his coach.

Michael Greenberg, a Bellmore JFK All Conference soccer player in 2001 and player for Coach Richard Daoust, describes his coach in this way: "It is very rare to find someone that inspires you. Coach Daoust was nothing short of an inspiration to me. He was a man that I had a great amount of respect for and who impacted my life on and off the field. He had such a high level of intelligence for the game of soccer and such a passion to win. It made me want to play that much harder for him."

The Nassau County Soccer Coaches Association in loving memory of their fallen past president, has created the annual Richard Daoust Memorial Scholarship. The scholarship is awarded to the high school senior that best exemplifies the intelligence, work ethic, discipline and love of the game that Mr. Daoust expected of all the soccer players of Nassau County.

Oyster Bay High School varsity soccer coach Tim Brady tells what it meant to have Matthew Schwartz on his team. "To have Matt as a member of our team meant that we had one of the most unselfish and team first kind of individuals that there is. Matt typifies the term "Scholar Athlete" and the Nassau County Soccer Coaches Association made the perfect choice for the Richard Daoust Memorial Scholarship. Matt truly sees the bigger picture and realizes that "we" is much more important than "I" and he lives his life trying to make the world a better place by using his talents and abilities towards making those around him better. Matthew Schwartz is associated with the qualities of integrity, respect, honesty, responsibility, and perseverance. What coach or team wouldn't want a player with those traits?"

Matt plans on attending college next year where he hopes to follow in the footsteps of both parents and become a doctor. Matt hopes to study the causes and hopefully find a treatment for autism.