Seely’s Posture Is To Support Self By Playing

Soccer is a bowl of Alpha Bits gone berserk. MLS, A-League, USISL, D3PL, PDSL, EIEIO it’s a daunting knot for casual fans to untangle, and a sure-fire way to keep them casual.

To the Spokane Shadow’s Tim Seely, however, it’s elementary.

He’s in the league that doesn’t pay.

He doesn’t say it as a complaint or take it as an insult. It just is. It’s where the Shadow and Seely both fit in the soccer scheme of things at the moment.

Dues must be paid and he’ll do so willingly, if not altogether patiently.

“But in the next couple of years, I want to get paid for what I’m doing,” said the 22-year-old midfielder, the tone of his voice making clear this is merely a goal, and not a gauntlet hurled at management. “I’ve always just been happy about being in Spokane, but I think I’m ready to make a push to the next level.”

Right now, though, he is the perfect fit for the Shadow - a home-grown player with a considerable upside.

Not unlike the club itself, given its 7-0 record.

That upside gets the acid test this weekend. The Central Coast Roadrunners from California - last summer’s USISL Premier League champions - visit Albi Stadium tonight for a game that counts only in the self-esteem standings.

“It’s sort of like interleague play in baseball,” offered Shadow coach Sean Bushey, perhaps unaware that sending Mariners pitching into Coors Field is hardly going to be for funsies.

Then it’s back inside the Northwest Division for a Saturday game against the Puget Sound Bigfoot, with the club dangling discount tickets and fireworks to drum up a crowd and stave off what you’d figure to be the inevitable anticlimax.

Seely doesn’t bother to disguise which game he’s anticipating most.

“They’re the national champions,” he said of the Roadrunners, “which we should have been.”

True, Central Coast won the Premier title by beating San Francisco 1-0, and it was San Francisco which ousted the Shadow from the playoffs, 3-2 - a game instantly enshrined in the Shaft Job Hall of Fame.

Ancient history, however, serves no purpose unless it’s turned into hunger.

This the Shadow has done - its undefeated May having been accomplished despite assorted injuries to some old hands. Only last weekend was Bushey finally able to start the same lineup twice.

That Seely wasn’t among the early absentees is something of an upset. Last fall, he ripped up a knee 70 minutes into his sophomore season at the Community Colleges of Spokane. The Sasquatch went on to win their league title, while Seely went to rehab.

His recovery has been rapid and complete, though the resiliency of a young body is being tested by the Shadow schedule.

“I think soccer was meant to be played once a week,” he said, laughing, “and playing on AstroTurf isn’t helping.”

On the other hand, the more games the better.

In Seely, Bushey may have the best soccer talent Spokane has produced to date. As a senior at North Central in 1993, Seely spurred the Indians to a third-place finish at state. The year before that, he made the U-17 national team that finished 3-3-1 in an international tournament in France.

“I see those people on TV now,” Seely said. “One does a commercial for PowerAde. Three or four are in the A-League. One’s in MLS. It makes me wonder if I’m going to get a piece of the pie.”

Maybe, if he can stay healthy.

“He needs game experience,” said Bushey. “He has the ability to play at a higher pro level. Playing in MLS takes commitment and getting breaks your way - the mental drive to do that. He has the talent.

“Technically, he’s probably the best player skill-wise we have. He just has a passion for the game. He’s a very creative player, and very confident.”

Sometimes it’s skills that win a game - Seely had the deciding goal at Bellingham two weeks ago - and sometimes it’s smarts. Against Yakima last week, Seely took it upon himself to switch positions with another midfielder, Joe Marks - a move Bushey called “a key difference in us winning.”

And with each victory, the more crystal his ambitions become.

Seely is unsure where he’s going to continue his college career next fall, or even if he is.

“I’m still looking,” he said, “or I can even see myself going to Seattle and trying out for the Sounders. It’s not that far out of the picture. It’s kind of 50-50. It’s what my parents want me to do, and I think I’ve put in my dues - at least enough to give it a run.

“It would be a step toward what I want to do. Even if you’re only making $100 a game.”

That’s a language even the most casual fan can understand.

You can contact John Blanchette by voice mail at 459-5577, extension 5509.

, DataTimes The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = John Blanchette The Spokesman-Review