From reluctance to excellence/ Lewis-Palmer soccer star is The

0 Comments | Gazette, The (Colorado Springs), Nov 29, 1999 | by Nick Walter

MONUMENT - A toddler can usually be persuaded to do almost anything. For the right price.

Russell Aamodt's parents decided the best way to entice their 4- year old son into trying soccer was to bribe him with something sweet.

Fortunately for Aamodt, now The Gazette's boys soccer player of the year, sweets were his weakness.

"I didn't want to play, but they gave me some candy to go to practice and I found out that I liked to play," said the Lewis- Palmer senior.

Sweets aside, it didn't take long for Aamodt to realize he was a natural at the sport.

Playing the first game of his life at Maple Elementary School in Newbury Park, Calif., Aamodt was just another tyke hopping around on the field.

"It was just a bunch of kids jumping around," said Aamodt. "No one really knew what they were doing."

Not even Aamodt.

But he was aware of which goal to shoot at, and he knew that he was going to do whatever it took to put the ball in the net.

Aamodt still remembers the first goal that he scored.

"It was in the first game and I scored it with my knee," Aamodt said with a thin smile. "It was off a goal kick and I just hit it back into the goal."

From that moment on, soccer was like oxygen to Aamodt. He needed it. He thrived on it. And he was never away from it.

Aamodt continued playing at Sequoia Middle School, involving himself in club teams during the summer.

When he graduated from middle school at 13, his parents decided it was an opportune time to change the family's location.

"Our city wasn't that bad," Aamodt said. "But we moved because some of the other cities were getting pretty bad as far as crime, and my parents saw that coming to our city in the future."

So they packed up their belongings and moved to Monument, enrolling Aamodt in Lewis-Palmer. There, Aamodt would meet coach Vic Garcia, who would take his game to another dimension.

As a freshman, Aamodt saw limited playing time due to inexperience and an injured hand. That season, he would watch his team fall in the state championship game to Liberty.

"That one didn't hurt too much, but I felt bad for the seniors," said Aamodt.

He would again be plagued by an injury in his sophomore year.

Aamodt broke his wrist when he planted it into the ground, but to the spectators it seemed much more serious.

"They made it a big deal by bringing out the stretcher," Aamodt said bitterly. "They tapped my feet and asked me if I could feel my toes and I couldn't. But it was because it was freezing and my toes were numb."

Aamodt went on to have a solid season and an even better season the following year when Lewis-Palmer again reached the state championship. Despite another second-place finish, Aamodt took away valuable lessons from senior Thomas Clark.

"I wanted to be like him," Aamodt said of Clark, who now plays soccer at Air Force.

Going into this, his senior year, Aamodt was 16 goals short of breaking Clark's 34 career goals. The glaring obstacle was his pattern of injuries.

For the first time, Aamodt found a way to stay healthy. The results amazed even Garcia, who saw Aamodt grow into more of a leader and an athlete.

"The time that I knew Russ had gotten there was against Sterling," said Garcia. "He scored the first three goals to put us up 3-0. I told him that there are other people that really need to come through here.

"He said, 'Put me back in and I'll distribute the ball,' Russ went out there and never again shot the ball at the goal," Garcia added.

Aamodt's 25 goals set a Lewis-Palmer single-season record. In doing so, he surpassed Clark's career record by 10 goals.

"My relationship with Clark was kind of like Sean's (Rhynard) relationship with me this year," said Aamodt. "I hope Sean will do that with a junior next year and make it a tradition."

Despite the individual accomplishments, Aamodt had to endure his third second-place finish at state after Lewis-Palmer lost to Broomfield, 2-0.

The devastating loss caused Aamodt to crumble his knees and spread his hands across his face. He still isn't sure when the pain will go away.

"It still hurts," said Aamodt, his words stumbling over his emotion. "It probably won't go away until I win a championship."

That yearning has kept him hungry for success.

"When I play in college I'm going to say, 'Guys, I haven't got a championship yet,'" said Aamodt, who would like to play college soccer somewhere warm. He is considering Heritage University in California and Barry University and Palm Beach Atlantic, which are both in Florida.

Right now he is trying to adjust to the free time that came with the end of his high school season.

"I came home after school when we normally practice and just sat down," said Aamodt. "But I'll be playing again."

And keep enjoying that sweet success.

- Nick Walter may be reached at 636-0250 or gtsports@gazette.com

Stats

Lewis-Palmer's Russell Aamodt set school records for goals in a season (25) and career goals (44).

Speaking

"When I play in college I'm going to say, 'Guys, I haven't

got a championship yet.'"

- Russell Aamodt, The Gazette's boys soccer player of the year.