Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, May 26, 1994 TAG: 9405260178
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: E-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By JOHN A. MONTGOMERY SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
He's got the name, and he's got the game.
Duus, a junior at Cave Spring High School, is one of two Roanoke Star soccer players to be named to the U.S. Olympic Development Team for the second consecutive year. Duus made the team in 1994 as a U-16 player, and teammates, coaches and the executive director regard him as one of the strongest players within the Star program.
He's traveled with his team to Europe to play soccer the past two summers, and this year, he may go alone - to join a German club team that has shown interest in him.
"That's pretty good when the Germans are asking about an American player," said Star Executive Director Danny Beamer.
But perhaps most importantly, his reputation is one that the younger players in the Star program idolize.
Scot Luke, coach of the U-12 White team, asked Beamer and Duus to speak to his team members after the 12-year-olds won a recent tournament.
"I think they were almost more interested in what Tait had to say than Danny Beamer," Luke said. "They really look up to him."
Beamer understands why; he's coached Duus for the past four years.
"Tait's a very unusual player," Beamer said. "He has excellent dedication and commitment to the sport of soccer. In fact, that's what makes him so good. That's the only sport he does - year round. He works on his soccer every day, on his own."
"I practice a lot," Duus admitted, adding that he started playing soccer at age 6. He also is committed to a three-day-a-week weight-lifting regimen.
He's not so certain, however, about his hero status among the 12-year-olds. "I guess I helped them a bunch at practice," he said. "[Other than that] I don't really think about it."
Duus does concede that some former Roanoke Star players - Dee Dalton, Stuart Baucom, and Lang Wedemeyer - influenced him.
Wedemeyer was captain of the soccer team at Old Dominion University this year and may play professional soccer; and Baucom plays soccer for the club team at the University of North Carolina. Dalton is pursuing a professional baseball career with the St. Louis Cardinals organization.
Duus seems to have a natural aptitude for soccer. "Tait's very versatile, very quick," Beamer said. `He plays sweeper, which is one of the most intelligent positions on the field."
The sweeper, Beamer explained, is the last line of defense other than the goalkeeper. Duus, he said, "has to be a big-time communicator to the other players and he also has to be an attacker. The sweeper has to be able to do it all, and Tait can."
Duus has clearly defined goals. "It's important that I keep making the ODP team so I have the exposure to college coaches."
In the short term, Duus hopes to make a regional ODP team, one step beyond where he is now.
"One of my main goals is to get a [college] scholarship to a Division I school," he said. He dreams of playing for the University of Virginia, three-time national champion.
"And one day, I'd like to play for a national team," he said.
by CNB