THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, February 6, 1997 TAG: 9702060651
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C01 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Column
SOURCE: Tom Robinson
LENGTH: 66 lines
Another year, another first-round draft choice.
It's not a basketball player who has emulated Joe Smith and Allen Iverson this time, but a soccer player. Name of Steve Jolley, a Kempsville kid from William and Mary who has entered Major League Soccer's Los Angeles Galaxy.
A star trip it ain't, not on the limousine level we know from basketball and football. It lights Jolley's rocket plenty, though.
``You can't imagine how much anxiety I had the week going into this thing,'' said Jolley, who's high-strung to begin with. But it all melted into what Jolley called ``complete euphoria'' Sunday when the Galaxy made him the ninth player picked in the college draft, which featured 29 players.
And get this good karma: Jolley was on a soccer field when he found out, warming up for the second half of an all-star game in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., as the selections were read over the P.A. system.
``After the game, they gave you a hat and jersey and you did pictures with the coaches and GMs and the executive commissioner of the MLS. But that's where the (draft) similarities stop,'' said Jolley, William and Mary's first first-round draft choice in any sport.
``Just because you're drafted doesn't mean they build the whole team around you like the Allen Iversons of the world. This is just an association with a team. You have to prove yourself all over again.''
Jolley gets his expenses paid during training camp, which has begun for the season's late-March kickoff. And if he makes the Galaxy, his salary will be the MLS minimum of $24,000, and maybe a little more because of his draft status.
That's about it for a financial windfall. But Jolley plays soccer, so already you know it's not about money for him.
``Even if you make $50,000 or $60,000,'' said Jolley, who also hopes to play indoor soccer, ``the life of a professional athlete is not that bad.''
(Whoa, big fella. Gonna have to work on that greed reflex.)
To Jolley, 21, the first round mostly means confirmation of his talents and potential, and probably a long evaluation at camp as one of Los Angeles' three college picks.
The only guarantee is that there is none, not even a roster spot.
``Any team that wants to have credibility, their first-round draft pick has to have some kind of shot of hanging around,'' Tribe coach Al Albert said. ``Hopefully, they've put some thought into it.''
The scouting report on Jolley, a midfielder, is that he excels at creating opportunities with his head, by thinking and redirecting balls. But Los Angeles, which lost the first MLS final last season to D.C. United, has plenty of returning players on its 20-man roster.
It also has an A League, soccer's top minor league, affiliation with a team in Orange County, Calif. So the likely scenario for Jolley as a first-year pro is an assignment to Orange County, while continuing to practice with and learn his way around the Galaxy.
``To say that I'll go there and start this year would be absolutely ludicrous,'' said Jolley, who hopes to arrange a way to complete his kinesiology degree and graduate in May. ``My goal is to just make the roster.
``In my wildest dreams I kind of wanted to go to LA. It's got all that stigma about what a crazy town it is. But in all realistic terms, I was saying, `Somebody, please pick me.' ''
So what if other first rounders measure reality in gold-rimmed wheels and shoe contracts? If there's another draftee out there more joyous than Jolley, he's in a different galaxy. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Steve Jolley, william & Mary soccer player