SOCCER: GRIFFIN'S PLAY TURNS HEADS OF U.S. SOCCER OFFICIALS; LITTLEROCK HIGH STUDENT SECURES SPOT ON NATIONAL UNDER-18 TEAM.

Byline: Rich Hammond Staff Writer

Leonard Griffin's trip to Virginia last month for a fairly routine soccer camp turned into a mission of discovery.

As one of 150 players selected nationally to attend an Adidas camp, Griffin had the opportunity to showcase his talents in front of countless college coaches and scouts. He ended up impressing much more important people.

Griffin, an incoming senior at Littlerock High, caught the eye of officials from U.S. Soccer, and when he returned home, he was informed that he had been selected to join the U.S. under-18 team.

Griffin, who will turn 17 next month, is the youngest player on the team, but he tried to not make it evident last week in Oregon, when he played with the national team for the first time.

``I was really nervous going in, because a lot of those guys are in college or going into college, and they were a lot bigger than me,'' Griffin said. ``I was nervous at the beginning, but I ended up playing pretty well.

``I'm pretty much used to it by now. Because my birthday is later in the year, I'm used to being one of the younger guys.''

Griffin is also getting used to the extensive attention and travel that comes with being one of the rising stars in the U.S. soccer program.

The U-18 selection capped a whirlwind summer for Griffin, who played in last weekend's Surf Cup in San Diego and leaves today for New York to compete with his club team, the Santa Anita Heat, in the College Showcase Tournament.

The Heat finished second in the boys' under-17 Super group at the Surf Cup, and although Griffin acknowledges that some rest would be nice before the school year begins, he is enjoying his hectic pace.

``It definitely makes time go by a lot faster,'' Griffin said. ``Sometimes I wish I could go out and have fun and stuff, but I think it's going pretty well for me.''

School, however, is still an important part of Griffin's life. Griffin's father, Leonard, said several people ``within the soccer world'' have encouraged him to have his son skip college and go directly to international competition, but both father and son insist that is not an option.

``He knows that he has to maintain his 4.0 GPA this year and attend college,'' the elder Griffin said. ``In other countries kids won't bother with going to school, because that is how they handle young players. Here, most all young players in all sports go to college before they start their professional careers, so that's what we're going to do.

``I've seen too many talented young players who didn't reach that next level and didn't have that education to fall back on. So he has to have that education. Plus he has to learn things like managing his own checking account and balancing a budget, real world things like that.''

This is also an educational period for Leonard's father, who is learning how to deal with being the parent of a young sports star.

``Early on, I coached him in AYSO, and even though I had never played soccer, I knew a lot about the sport,'' he said. ``There came a time when I realized I could not take him any further, and I needed to put him under the guidance of experienced soccer people, and he's been coached by a few top coaches.''

Griffin has excelled against top competition, and although he no longer competes for his high school team, he does not lack motivation in soccer.

``When I was younger I thought I would probably play football and basketball, but before I got into high school I started making some state and regional teams in soccer, so that's what I stayed with,'' Griffin said. ``Seeing what the women accomplished in the World Cup really pushes me, because I want to make that same thing happen with the men someday.

``I would love to play overseas, but if that doesn't work out it would be great to play (Major League Soccer). This is my dream, so I might as well go for it.''

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Photo: (color) Leonard Griffin, left, is the youngest player on U.S. Soccer's under-18 team. Griffin is entering his senior year at Littlerock.

Daily News File Photo