Shadle’s Wirtz inspires confidence

When Shadle Park soccer coach Matt Leonard talks about four-year starter Kyle Wirtz, he talks about his comfort level around the game. And although Leonard is referring to Wirtz, it’s obvious that the coach breathes easier when the Highlander senior is on the field.

“Kyle plays year-round,” Leonard said, “so he’s confident and he’s comfortable. He doesn’t get real anxious, because his experience here and with older players has really helped him out.”

In addition to his work as a defender with the Highlanders, Wirtz has been part of the Spokane Shadow program for the last several years as well, including the past two seasons with the senior Shadow team, members of the United Soccer League’s Premier Development program.

“That experience has helped me to think a few steps ahead of what’s happening right now,” Wirtz said. “The pace is faster than high school soccer, and it’s good for me because here I’m expected to be a leader, to take control on the field. The adjustment from premier to high school really works out just fine for me.”

Wirtz will attend North Idaho College on a soccer scholarship next season, but his career is unlikely to end there.

“He’s a very versatile player,” said Leonard. “Kyle’s talented and tenacious, and his strengths are his speed and the way he positions himself. I always have one or two freshmen come in who can play varsity, but Kyle was a little different in that he came in with great pace.

“For lots of freshmen, the speed of the game at the varsity level is unaccustomed, but it didn’t take him long to adapt. He relies on his speed and quickness, and he’s both strong and fast.”

The Highlanders have made it to the GSL district playoffs each of Wirtz’s first three years, but ended each season with a first-round loss, so his goal is to make it back—and make it further. For its first two games, Shadle has had to do without the all-Greater Spokane League performer, who hyperextended a knee during the preseason and is still awaiting medical clearance.

Wirtz was the kickoff specialist for the Highlander football team last fall, but soccer’s where his heart is. And he remembers well when he began pushing himself to a higher level.

“It was at U-15,” he said, “and my coach, Tim Seely, pushed us harder than I’d ever been pushed, got all of us to step it up some. He’d played professionally, and he got me thinking maybe I could do the same.

“I still see Coach Seely occasionally. He’s not coaching me any more, but he’s still pushing me!”