Biography
Samaya Clark-Gabriel was born in Brooklyn, NY where she evolved into a versatile athlete & entertainer, dominating Soccer and Basketball with ease. She started playing intramural soccer at the age of 4 for the Brooklyn Patriots. Within a y ear's time, her exceptional talent promoted her to the coed U8 travel team division. Samaya was commended for her tireless effort by receiving Athlete of the Year. In 2016, Samaya athleticism flourished when she commanded the field to help lead the Brooklyn Stars Soccer Academy's to their first league championship victory. In addition to receiving several tournament titles, Samaya was presented with the Lion's Heart Award for demonstrating extraordinary drive and skill against many respectable all-boys teams.
In December 2015, this self-proclaimed soccer princess expressed interest in basketball. She wanted to expand her capabilities and use her speed, agility, and coordination to conquer another sport. She made history as the youngest student ever admitted to the school's basketball team program, competing against students in 3rd grade and beyond. Samaya's rapid and exceptional development of a complex style of dribbling caught the attention and hearts of millions of Americans as over 2 million viewers took interest in her highlight video from a training session in just the first week of submission.
Her relentless desire to perform has lead to featured opportunities on the Pickler & Ben show, Good Morning America (Live), GoodDay NY (Live) CBS Sports, USA Today, News 12 Brooklyn, Sports center, Espn, Espnw Chasing News, BricTV, The NY Post, Fox5NY, Ruptly TV(Russia), Women You Should Know, NowThis Her, Little Big Shots-Mexico Grandes Chicos.(Filmed in Bogota Colombia) Rolling Stone Magazine, People.com Magazine & Performances with The Harlem Globetrotters at Barclays center in Brooklyn NY & Nassau Coliseum in Long Island NY in front 10,000 fans & Disney's pixar cars 3 campaign.
Samaya recently received a Certificate of Recognition From the Governor of New York Andrew Cuomo and a Citation from Brooklyn borough president Eric Adams for the efforts she puts into making her community a better place and her contributions to children at St Jude Hospital.
Samaya's continued dedication to excellence overflows into her academic performance in the classroom. she has been awarded Student of the Month and earned Outstanding Performance certificates in Math and English consistently from PreK-2nd Grade. In First Grade, Samaya was recognized for conveying high levels of Academic Achievement. Despite the intensity of her athletic drive, Samaya remains a humble, carefree and fun loving girl, who has many dreams and aspirations at such an early stage in her life. She envisions herself playing Basketball in college and aspires to become an Olympic Gold medalist in Gymnastics. Samaya hopes to be an elite athlete for other girls (and boys) to follow.
