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To the pros he goes
  
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By Ryan Boldrey
On Jan. 15 Chris Salvaggione, a 2005 Lewis-Palmer graduate, was drafted in the third round of the Major League Soccer Super Draft by the New England Revolution. Salvaggione, selected 38th overall, was also recently named the 2008 Atlantic 10 offensive player of the year as a senior for University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
A forward, who scored 15 goals and recorded 8 assists this past year, Salvaggione was named second-team All American in 2008. The 21-year-old is a former national champion with the Colorado Rush youth soccer club and was also a part of the 2003 state championship team at Lewis-Palmer.
Salvaggione joins Bobby Burling, whom he shared the field with in Monument in 2002, as just the second Ranger to ever make it to the MLS.
“I remember back in high school everyone was telling me how hard it was to play sports as a living and how impossible it was to get a scholarship to college and everything,” Salvaggione said. “You’ve just got to brush those types of people off as the types of negative influences that you don’t need. If you really want it, it’s definitely achievable. Nothing’s impossible.”
Salvaggione, who his former Rush coach, Nik Penn, described as “tenacious,” “hard working” and “relentless,” graduated from LP in 2005 and headed off to play college soccer at Gardner-Webb, a small Division I school in Boiling Springs, N.C.
After helping lead the Bulldogs to their first ever NCAA tournament appearance in his sophomore year, Salvaggione made the decision to transfer to a bigger program in order to get his name out there a little bit more.
Penn, who is a friend of Jeremy Gunn, the head coach at UNCC, made a phone call to the coach on Salvaggione’s behalf. Gunn came to see Salvaggione play and the rest is history.
The Monument native went on to lead the 49ers in scoring the next two seasons and before he saw his name pop up on his computer screen during the MLS draft on Jan. 15, was receiving a text message from his agent, telling him that New England was selecting him.
“I’m just taking it all in stride,” Salvaggione said. “But it’s by far the biggest thing that’s happened to me. It’s definitely exciting.”
Salvaggione is currently in Charlotte training with the 49ers and will depart Jan. 30 for New England to be with his new team.
“He’s very realistic about what it’s going to take to make it in the MLS,” said his former Lewis-Palmer head coach Kurt Clark. “He’s one of those players that just come along once in a while.”
Other soccer news
From former Rangers that played for the Rush to future Rangers that play for the Rush:
Monument eighth-graders Owen Braley and Grant Ellis just returned from Phoenix where they played in a three-day tournament as part of the National Under-14 Rush All-Star team. The two were part of a 16-person roster, that drew from the best Rush players from across the country.
The team advanced to the finals of the holiday tournament Jan. 17-19, but fell 1-0.
A forward, who scored 15 goals and recorded 8 assists this past year, Salvaggione was named second-team All American in 2008. The 21-year-old is a former national champion with the Colorado Rush youth soccer club and was also a part of the 2003 state championship team at Lewis-Palmer.
Salvaggione joins Bobby Burling, whom he shared the field with in Monument in 2002, as just the second Ranger to ever make it to the MLS.
“I remember back in high school everyone was telling me how hard it was to play sports as a living and how impossible it was to get a scholarship to college and everything,” Salvaggione said. “You’ve just got to brush those types of people off as the types of negative influences that you don’t need. If you really want it, it’s definitely achievable. Nothing’s impossible.”
Salvaggione, who his former Rush coach, Nik Penn, described as “tenacious,” “hard working” and “relentless,” graduated from LP in 2005 and headed off to play college soccer at Gardner-Webb, a small Division I school in Boiling Springs, N.C.
After helping lead the Bulldogs to their first ever NCAA tournament appearance in his sophomore year, Salvaggione made the decision to transfer to a bigger program in order to get his name out there a little bit more.
Penn, who is a friend of Jeremy Gunn, the head coach at UNCC, made a phone call to the coach on Salvaggione’s behalf. Gunn came to see Salvaggione play and the rest is history.
The Monument native went on to lead the 49ers in scoring the next two seasons and before he saw his name pop up on his computer screen during the MLS draft on Jan. 15, was receiving a text message from his agent, telling him that New England was selecting him.
“I’m just taking it all in stride,” Salvaggione said. “But it’s by far the biggest thing that’s happened to me. It’s definitely exciting.”
Salvaggione is currently in Charlotte training with the 49ers and will depart Jan. 30 for New England to be with his new team.
“He’s very realistic about what it’s going to take to make it in the MLS,” said his former Lewis-Palmer head coach Kurt Clark. “He’s one of those players that just come along once in a while.”
Other soccer news
From former Rangers that played for the Rush to future Rangers that play for the Rush:
Monument eighth-graders Owen Braley and Grant Ellis just returned from Phoenix where they played in a three-day tournament as part of the National Under-14 Rush All-Star team. The two were part of a 16-person roster, that drew from the best Rush players from across the country.
The team advanced to the finals of the holiday tournament Jan. 17-19, but fell 1-0.
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