PHILIPSBURG--Gerwin Lake is called Smally. He may be small, at just 1.77 meters tall, but he is fast on his feet and can find the back of a football net.
In fact, he has been the top scorer for St. Maarten two years in a row. Lake is The Daily Herald’s Sports Person of the Year for 2023. Gerwin Lake was born in the Netherlands to a Curaçao father and a St. Maarten mother. The nickname stems from his brother, Gershwin, who has the moniker, “Biggie”. Lake first featured on the St. Maarten National football team in 2019 in the CONCACAF Nations League Qualifier against St. Martin. Lake scored twice in the 4-3 victory for his team. Lake would go on to score at least one goal in the first five matches he played for St. Maarten. He caught the attention of the Nations League organisers and at the end of the competition he was named to the League’s C division Best XI team. Lake led the league, all divisions with eight goals. St. Maarten won their group and were promoted to the Nations League B division. Lake lives in the Netherlands and plays for FC Portugaal, but returns to St. Maarten whenever needed. He made the top 19 list of all time scorers in the Concacaf Nations League and is St. Maarten’s all time top international scorer. But times were not always good for St. Maarten. Prior to Lake’s arrival, the national team lost a lot of matches and often by double digits. “Back then, it’d be 13-0,” said Lake. “They were losing terribly, and I was like, ‘Maybe I could give it a try and help them improve a little bit.’” Lake has not looked back. He has made 17 international appearances for St. Maarten. He appeared for the national team in five games in 2019 and scored seven goals. In 2022 he played in four games and scored four times. In 2023 he featured in eight games and netted the ball for St. Maarten six times. All the while Lake lived and worked in the Netherlands, and commuted to St. Maarten National team matches. “Gerwin is family of the Lakes in St. Peters,” explained Johnny Singh, President of the St Maarten Soccer Association. He is St. Maarten’s all time top international scorer. Beside 11 vs 11, he also plays Futsal in Holland at the highest level. More importantly, Lake was named to the B level best 11 team in the November. For his dedication to the sport and to St. Maarten Gerwin Lake is the Daily Herald’s Sports Person of the Year.
