A GENUINE GROWTH SPURT MATURITY TURNS MOORPARK STAR INTO LEADER.Byline: Gideon Rubin Staff Writer Kurtis Lindsey is a free-spirited soccer standout who by his own admission has a surfing problem. His love for riding the Ventura County beaches' world-class waves, so tantalizingly tan·ta·lize tr.v. tan·ta·lized, tan·ta·liz·ing, tan·ta·liz·es To excite (another) by exposing something desirable while keeping it out of reach. close to his Thousand Oaks Thousand Oaks, residential city (1990 pop. 104,352), Ventura co., S Calif., in a farm area; inc. 1964. Avocados, citrus, vegetables, strawberries, and nursery products are grown. home, helped him earn sponsorship from an Orange County-based surfboard company. It also kept him away from the classroom, likely costing him a Div A DIV Associate of Divinity . I college scholarship out of Thousand Oaks High, where he was a two-time All-Southern Southern first-team selection. Now a Moorpark College Moorpark College is a California-state funded community college located on a 134 acre (542,000 m²) property reclining on a hill in Moorpark, a town in Ventura County, California. sophomore, Lindsey hasn't given up surfing and has no plans to do so. But he's gained a more mature outlook at Moorpark and now is on track for the college scholarship he wasn't ready for out of high school. Lindsey's personal growth also has been a boon for the Raiders, who this season won their first Western State Conference title since 1990. Moorpark (13-2-3), seeded No. 8 in the Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, playoffs, will play host to No. 9 College of the Canyons College of the Canyons is one of the fastest-growing community colleges in the state. According to the National Junior College Research Association, College of the Canyons consistently ranks in the top 50 community colleges in the nation. at 2 p.m. Tuesday in an opening-round game. ``I've grown up a lot,'' said Lindsey, a central midfielder. ``I get way into (soccer), and when I was in high school, I'd get really obnoxious sometimes.'' A brash trash-talker in high school, Lindsey now believes his cockiness cock·y adj. cock·i·er, cock·i·est Overly self-assertive or self-confident. cock  i·ly adv. was at times counterproductive. He blames himself for several
upset losses Thousand Oaks suffered, including a second-round playoff
shocker shock·er n. One that startles, shocks, or horrifies, as a sensational story or novel. Noun 1. shocker - a shockingly bad person bad person - a person who does harm to others 2. to then-unheralded Crespi of Encino. ``That was the only game of the year I didn't back up what I said, and I had to eat my own words,'' Lindsey said. A team captain and a vocal leader at Moorpark, Lindsey channels his energy into inspiring his teammates, not trying to sabotage opponents. ``He pretty much just talks to us now,'' said Moorpark forward Patrick Smith Patrick Smith is the name of
Lindsey also takes school more seriously. He said he enjoys the more challenging coursework at Moorpark and has maintained a GPA GPA abbr. grade point average Noun 1. GPA - a measure of a student's academic achievement at a college or university; calculated by dividing the total number of grade points received by the total number attempted consistently above 2.5. His top college choices are Div. I Seton Hall and San Diego San Diego (săn dēā`gō), city (1990 pop. 1,110,549), seat of San Diego co., S Calif., on San Diego Bay; inc. 1850. San Diego includes the unincorporated communities of La Jolla and Spring Valley. Coronado is across the bay. State, and he's considering majoring in a variety of subjects, from environmental science to business, with a philosophy minor. ``I just don't want to just do a 'normal' major, like everybody else,'' he said. As long as he can keep his grades up, Lindsey figures to have plenty of four-year college options, Moorpark coach Sean Roche said. ``He's a tremendous athlete,'' Roche said, ``and his competitiveness and technical ability make him a lucrative Div. I or Div. II prospect.'' His coaches and teammates rave about Lindsey's leadership skills. ``Kurtis is just like an injection of adrenaline,'' sophomore midfielder Oscar Sandoval said. ``He'll be pumped up the day before a game, in the locker room before we play. He just pumps up the whole team.'' Lindsey's play inspires teammates, too. He has scored three goals and leads the Raiders with seven assists. He has a knack for making clutch plays, scoring a winning goal from more than 40 yards on one occasion and directly from a corner kick on another. ``Those are the kinds of things,'' Roche said, ``that seem to happen to Kurtis.'' Lindsey credits Roche, his club coach in high school and his Olympic Development Program coach after his senior year, with helping mentor his personal development. He also cites team trainer Trevor Tom, who prepared him for the leadership role expected of him as a captain while guiding him through grueling rehabilitation rehabilitation: see physical therapy. from a broken foot last summer. Lindsey said he's had to cut back on the surf during soccer season but is looking forward to getting back to the beach after what he hopes will be a deep playoff run. And although no natural relationship exists between surfing and soccer, Lindsey gets a rush out of both sports. ``They're both just really intense,'' he said. ``And they both take skill a lot to be good at.'' Gideon Rubin (818)713-3607 gideon.rubin(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Moorpark College midfielder Kurtis Lindsey has matured on and off the field, and his reward might be a college scholarship. Joe Binoya/Special to the Daily News |
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