Inspiration played as two-way proposition

Barry Faulkner

Awestruck soccer players no taller than his waistband afford Chris

Roselli a reverence reserved for today’s most recognized sports

heroes. Absorbing instruction at a Roselli Soccer Academy workout

Tuesday at Harbor Day School in Corona del Mar, one can easily

surmise that the talented tenderfoots, ages 8 to 16, gaze admiringly

at Roselli’s professional polish and see their future.

What they don’t realize, however, is that Roselli, whose playing

resume includes stints with the United States youth national team,

the famed Santos club in Brazil, and two Major League Soccer

franchises, sees his own future in them. It is these boys in bloom,

in fact, who have helped rekindle the Newport Beach resident’s dream

of reaching the pinnacle of the sport as a player.

“It wasn’t too long ago that people would ask Chris about his

career and he’d tell them ‘Oh, I’m retired,’ said Tony Roselli,

Chris’ father. “But he’s back and I think he’s one of the best

players in the United States, if given the right situation. And the

kids have helped bring him back to that self-realization.”

Roselli, 28, an offensive center midfielder who signed with the

Utah Blitzz of the United Soccer Leagues’ Pro League circuit in late

July, is hopeful he can gain an invitation to the Los Angeles Galaxy

training camp next season.

He will compete for the Blitzz in Saturday’s league playoff

semifinal against the visiting Pittsburgh Riverhounds in Salt Lake

City.

Roselli’s contract with the Blitzz requires the team to fly him

out for games, enabling him to continue still formative coaching

career. Roselli is coaching for the six-team Corona del Mar Soccer

Club, which has played in some tournaments this summer and will begin

its inaugural league season in mid-September.

Roselli began focusing on coaching after becoming disillusioned

during the 2001 season, when he bounced between the MLS New England

Revolution and the A League Boston Bulldogs.

“[Playing soccer] became something that seemed a bit more like a

job than something that was fun to me,” said Roselli, who spurned

college scholarship offers to play in Brazil after attending Sunny

Hills High.

Tony Roselli said a severe groin injury that limited him for 18

months also helped induce his son’s temporary hiatus from

high-caliber competition.

Chris Roselli, who grew up in Fullerton, said he began helping out

with a local AYSO program, from which sprang the nucleus of the CdM

boys under-12 team he now coaches.

Working with the under-12 team that, earlier this month, outscored

four opponents a combined 23-2 to win the Silver Division of the

Capistrano Cup, recharged his competitive batteries, Roselli said.

“Some of these kids play the way I played when I was a kid,”

Roselli said. “Working with them seemed like something I was supposed

to be doing and they helped flip a switch in me that made me realize

I should be playing.”

So, while continuing to coach the club team, and also working to

establish his Roselli Soccer Academy -- designed to provide

elite-level training for talented young players in short camp/clinic

sessions that generally last five days -- Roselli began seizing

opportunities to renew his skills on the pitch.

“I think I’m at the prime of my career right now, physically and

mentally,” Roselli said. “Hopefully, playing with Utah can be a

starting point for something big. Hopefully, I can work my way into

camp next year with the Galaxy and they can see if I have what

they’re looking for.”

“There’s no reason why he should not get back into the MLS,” said

Jason Boyce, a former CdM High star who grew up playing with Roselli,

with whom he remains close. Boyce is an assistant coach in the

Roselli Soccer Academy and the two are teammates on the Blitzz.

“[Roselli] just needs an opportunity,” Boyce added.

Roselli said his coaching commitments make a future with an MLS

team outside of Los Angeles problematic. Another reason he would love

to play for the Galaxy, would be the opportunity for his players to

see him perform on the grand stage.

“On the first day of my latest Academy, I ask the kids, ‘Who wants

to be a pro soccer player?’ ” Roselli said. “And every one of them

raised their hand. I thought that was awesome.”

Academy participants Jack Gorab, 10, and Mason Case, 11, both of

whom also play for Roselli on the CdM under-12 club team, would

relish the opportunity to see their mentor show his stuff at the

highest level.

“He’s really good,” Case said of Roselli, whom he and Gorab

appreciate both for his ability as a player and a coach.

“He teaches us a lot about new tricks and how to play the game

better,” Case said.

Said Gorab: “We used to just play kick the ball and try to score.

But now, we know a lot more about how to the play the game. We do the

drills the [pros] do.”