ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times

DATE: Thursday, April 4, 1996                TAG: 9604050056
SECTION: NEIGHBORS                PAGE: E-9  EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: BOB TEITLEBAUM STAFF WRITER 


A SOCCER STAR'S NEW GOALINJURIES HAVE PLAGUED A SALEM ATHLETE'S PROMISING CAREER, BUT HER TALENTS TAKE HER FAR BEYOND THE PLAYING FIELD

After suffering two serious knee injuries, lesser athletes might have given up.

Salem's Amy Moore didn't, even though two operations to her left knee for anterior cruciate ligament damage robbed her of a basketball career and may have cost her an athletic scholarship to college. Moore has turned a negative into a positive.

Moore's problems began as a freshman when she suffered her first ACL injury. ``I was playing AAU [Amateur Athletic Union] basketball and it was the day before my first soccer game,'' recalled Moore. ``I never got to play in that first soccer game.''

She joined another well-known Salem athlete, football player Marcus Parker, who suffered an ACL injury that same spring and missed half his senior year. Now he's playing for Virginia Tech's football team.

Nine months later, as a sophomore, Moore injured the same knee. Her athletic career didn't really get off the ground until she was a junior. By then, Moore made All-Blue Ridge District honorable mention in volleyball, and last spring was an All-Timesland soccer player. Basketball, though, was long gone.

``I was better at soccer, but I'd say when I started, I'd rather play basketball. That was my passion,'' Moore said.

With little time to recuperate, Moore realized with her doctor's help that trying to rush a comeback for her junior year in basketball probably would cause a third ACL injury.

``It was so intense in basketball. It was my junior year, and I needed to let it heal. I played volleyball and it was great. It was OK because I had taught step aerobics in the fall [during basketball], and that helped strengthen my knee. I had a season off to build up my agility,'' she recalled.

Moore's devotion to basketball even caused her to give it one more shot last summer, despite not playing for two years.

``She went to camp last summer and would have been an asset to our team even though she was off two years,'' said Salem coach Dee Wright. ``There was a little bright light in my eyes when she was at camp. Her shooting was off as well as a few of her skills. But she's an intelligent athlete.''

After the camp, though, Moore decided basketball was a thing of the past in her life.

``I went to camp to see if it [basketball] would come back,'' Moore said. ``I like the girls on the team and have played with them my whole life. But with my job at Soccer Stop, teaching aerobics and playing [soccer] with the Roanoke Stars, I couldn't do both.''

Moore plays select soccer, and is recognized as one of the area's top young players.

``Amy is is such a mentally tough player,'' said Salem soccer coach Tracey Driscoll. ``She wouldn't allow the injuries to slow her up. She was much better as a junior, and she's even improved as a senior.

``Maybe she doesn't stand out as much, but she's not surrounded [with great players] like Carrie Moore [of Patrick Henry] and others. She's the only impact player on our team, though I think the kids around her are better soccer players.''

But the ACL injuries may have cost her a chance at a college scholarship in soccer.

``I haven't made a college choice. But I didn't get to play select soccer during the fall of my junior year and missed as a sophomore. That's when the colleges look at you. I've been recruited by Lynchburg, Washington and Lee and Randolph-Macon,'' Moore said.

Those are Division III schools, and any scholarships Moore earns from them would not be based on athletic ability.

But Moore's story is more than just sports. Just over a month ago, Moore won the Virginia Junior Miss contest and a $5,000 scholarship. She won the contest based on the categories of creative and performing arts, scholastic achievement, fitness and presence and composure.

For her talent, Moore sang and played a guitar. She'll compete for $40,000 more in scholarship money at the national Junior Miss contest in Mobile, Ala., in June.

Moore, who ranks second academically in her class, is as busy as any Timesland athlete. While sidelined with her injuries, she taught aerobics at 6 a.m. and after school. She also worked as a clerk at Soccer Stop.

After her injuries, Moore focused more on schoolwork. She also paints [watercolors and oils] and has won honorable mention in several art contests for her landscapes and abstracts.

Moore's ultimate goal is to be an orthopedic surgeon. She plans to take pre-med courses at either Virginia or Wake Forest instead of following a Division III soccer career.

``Medicine was something I always wanted to do. As soon as I had surgery, I wanted to be an orthopedic surgeon,'' Moore said.

Before her injuries, Moore said, people at Salem said she'd be one of the best athletes by the time she graduated. It doesn't bother her that it didn't happen the way it was predicted.

``Sports were my focus before surgery. I found balance, something besides the competition aspect,'' Moore said.

``I've gained harmony in my life from this. I focused on aerobics. My conditioning is not from playing sports, but from working at them. I'm definitely a happier person.

``It's sad to say, but it [being injured] was one of the best experiences. I deal with pain better. To deal with it has made me strong.''


LENGTH: Long  :  103 lines
ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO:  Cindy Pinkston. Salem High School's Amy Moore plays 

select soccer and is recognized as one of the area's top young

players. color.

by CNB