Future Royal Knight takes game overseas

NEW PORT RICHEY -- Sean Doyle wants to be a professional soccer player in the worst way. So much so that he hopes a July trip to Europe will one day lead to an offer to play abroad.

"It'll be good for me to get looked at," said Doyle, who will be a River Ridge freshman in the fall. "Maybe I'll get noticed."

Doyle, 14, already has made quite a name for himself. After moving up through the ranks of the West Pasco Youth Soccer Association, Doyle joined Strictly Soccer, a competitive team in St. Petersburg, last spring.

Doyle, who also has been part of the state's Olympic Development Team for two years, accepted an offer in February to play with the Super Clubs National Team. The 15-and-under squad, consisting of players from Florida (Clearwater's Brian Shriver is the only other Floridian), Kentucky, Illinois, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, New Hampshire and Vermont, is Doyle's ticket abroad. The team will play five games against European teams July 31 through Aug. 11 at various stadiums in Britain.

Although the team will not practice together until uniting overseas, Doyle feels it will be able to hold its own against European clubs.

"We'll train three times a day," he said. "I think we'll get to know each other and make do with what we've got."

This is Doyle's second trip abroad to play soccer. In 1998, he was part of an under-10 all-star team of players from Pasco and Hillsborough counties that played in Cavalaire-sur-Mer, France, as part of a sister cities exchange program with New Port Richey.

"It's a lot more exciting over there," Doyle said, comparing soccer in Europe to the U.S. "People are a lot more into it.

"I'm looking forward to how fast and physical (European players) are; to see if I can stay up with them."

Primarily a sweeper since joining WPYSA as a 5-year-old, Doyle moved to outside midfielder for several recent tournaments with Strictly Soccer. In January, he helped that team win a tournament at the Wide World of Disney Sports Complex with a goal and an assist in the championship game.

"I really like that position, because it gets me more into the attack," Doyle said.

Doyle also spent his eighth-grade season as a River Ridge Middle School midfielder and netted 17 goals.

He could have had more, according to River Ridge Middle coach Skip Glover.

"He was unselfish," Glover said. "There were a lot of goals he could have had that he gave to others. He'll share the ball.

"He was real competitive and probably one of the most talented kids I've coached."

As passionate as Doyle is about soccer, however, he feels just as strong about his family.

Doyle said he has learned quite a bit about the game from his father, Mitchell coach Steve Doyle, who also coached several of his son's youth teams.

Doyle skipped River Ridge's final game in February to attend the funeral of his grandfather, Walter "Red" Doyle.

"At the funeral, my dad made a speech about Grandpa watching me play," Doyle said, adding that the memory would serve as "motivation."

"(Walter Doyle) will be watching over him all the time," Steve Doyle said of his father, who played semi-pro baseball and football in New York.

© 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111

Contact the Times | Privacy Policy
Standard of Accuracy | Terms, Conditions & Copyright