TimeOut

Published 9:00 pm Monday, May 8, 2006

Soccer was Alec Nelson’s destiny. His father played for UCLA and professionally. His mother played for Seattle Pacific University and three of his older siblings – two brothers and a sister – competed in college. “It’s totally a soccer family,” said Nelson, a senior midfielder and co-captain who will continue the family tradition after high school by playing for SPU.

Beginnings: Just a day or two after his birth, Nelson’s father had him kicking a foam ball. By age 4, Nelson started playing on a team and at 11 he joined the Northwest Nationals soccer club, which he played for throughout high school.

Coach’s corner: Nelson, a third-year varsity player, “has got great touch and great field vision,” Meadowdale head coach Darrell Hamilton said. “He’s one of the best passing midfielders I’ve ever had.” Nelson (15 assists and six goals this season) knows the game so well, he’s like an extra coach on the field, said Hamilton: “People respect him. He’s played a lot of soccer and they listen to what he says.”

Nice bike: The bicycle kick is one of the most exciting moves in all of sports. Like many young soccer players, Nelson grew up hoping to perfect the extremely difficult offensive maneuver, in which a player leaps with his back to the net, spins backward and kicks the ball out of midair. Nelson learned the move by age 10 and scored on a few bicycle kicks over the years. The best one, Nelson said, was during his freshman year at Meadowdale when he scored from the right corner of the 18-yard box in a junior varsity game against Mariner. “It was one of the most incredible goals I’ve ever seen,” said coach Hamilton, who watched the game with the Mavericks’ varsity squad. “It’s all about timing when you’re striking the ball, no matter how you’re striking it,” said Nelson, who scored four goals that day.

Spiked: Nelson missed much of his junior season after the cleats on an opponent’s shoe tore open his nose.

Favorite athlete: Ronaldinho of Brazil and FC Barcelona. Said Nelson of the attacking midfielder, “The stuff that he can do with the ball is just out of control. He’s a master of the game.”

If I could attend any sports event: World Cup soccer. “Not only do I love soccer, but it’s the biggest sporting event in the world,” Nelson said. The 2006 World Cup starts next month in Germany.

I wish I knew how to: Snowboard better. Nelson’s only tried it a few times, mainly because his packed soccer schedule keeps him busy.

First concert: Summer Jam 2004 at the Gorge Amphitheatre.

Best concert: Jack Johnson last summer, also at the Gorge. “He’s definitely my favorite artist,” Nelson said of the laid-back rocker and former pro surfer. “It was an awesome concert.”

Just for laughs: Nelson’s favorite movie genre is comedy, and he loves “Tommy Boy” (1995, starring perfectly cast odd couple Chris Farley and David Spade) and “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy” (2004, with an awesomely mustachioed Will Ferrell).

Nicknames: Flash (a sarcastic moniker soccer teammates came up with because Nelson used to be a slow runner) and Chunk (because he was a chubby baby, but the name just stuck).

Mike Cane, Herald Writer