Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, October 19, 1995 TAG: 9510190084
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: E16 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB TEITLEBAUM STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: ROCKY MOUNT LENGTH: Long
It's not enough that the sophomore is on the cross country team in the fall, he also is on the football squad.
It requires a delicate balancing act among sports, studies and the desires of two coaches. It's a feat rarely attempted at the Group AAA level, but Maxey seems to be making it work - kicking field goals and extra points for the Eagles' football team and running in the seventh position for the cross country team.
Horace Green, Franklin County's football coach, is the one who approached Maxey with the idea of becoming a two-sport participant.
``I caught him at the [athletic] physicals last summer and asked him what sport he played,'' Green said.
Told Maxey played soccer and ran cross country, Green figured such an athlete might fill a kicking void for his team.
``I asked if he wanted to kick for us, and he said he runs cross country in the fall,'' Green said. ``I said, `That's OK. We'll work something out.'''
Jerry Saleeby, the Eagles' cross country coach, said his first reaction when Maxey approached him about playing football and cross country at the same time was, ``What? I wondered how we'd work that out.
``Then, when I realized he was going to be a kicker, that was something we could work with. If he were running up and down the field tackling, he wouldn't be able to do a whole lot of long-distance running. I told him to go for it.''
Maxey has played soccer since he was 6 years old. He started running cross country as a seventh-grader. When Green suggested he try kicking, he wasn't sure about participating in two sports at one time.
``I wasn't that interested,'' he said. ``Since I was running cross country, there didn't seem to be that much time for kicking footballs.''
Maxey, like most soccer players, has a strong kicking leg. So he talked to his parents, Johnny and Florence, about the idea.
``They said I could give it a shot,'' he said. ``I talked with Coach Green and then with Coach Saleeby before school let out last year.''
``I thought it might be rough,'' said Florence Maxey. ``But I feel he can handle it. Matthew is an active person. He tries really hard at everything he does and usually tries to improve on whatever he does. But no one ever dreamed of seeing him in a football uniform.''
This fall, Maxey runs cross country first, then goes to the football field at the end of the Eagles' regular practice to work with his holder, Gray Hodges, on kicking.
``I don't think it's that hard to play two sports,'' Maxey said. ``If I [have a conflict] and just go to one practice, when I get home, I'll run or kick to make up for whatever I missed.''
Maxey didn't try to kick a ball with a holder until the first day of practice in August, but said he wasn't worried about missing and hitting Hodges' finger.
``I trusted myself not to hit him. I'm confident of my kicking,'' he said. ``We tried an extra point and it went right through there.''
Maxey has converted two of five field-goal attempts and 13 of 15 extra-point tries. His longest field-goal try was a 51-yarder and the two he converted were from 25 and 30 yards.
At 5-foot-7, 139 pounds, Maxey doesn't look like a candidate to knock heads with opponents on the field. Yet on kickoffs, he's fair game for opposing teams trying to knock him out of the way.
``I never dreamed of seeing him in a football uniform,'' Florence Maxey said. ``I thought he might get hurt. But he watches football on television, so we thought we might take a chance.''
On Oct.7, Maxey stepped onto the field in Dublin against the player he hopes to replace next year as Timesland's premier kicking specialist - Pulaski County's Shayne Graham. The two traded early field goals before Graham added another and the Cougars went on to win 41-16.
``I was awe of him,'' Maxey said of Graham, a senior who is being recruited heavily. ``He's good. Just seeing him kick, I'd like to work up to being as good as he is.''
With his start, a college scholarship for kicking isn't out of the question if Maxey keeps improving.
``His brother [Daniel] went to Virginia Tech this year, and we see that it takes a lot of money for college,'' Florence Maxey said. ``Matthew would like to go to another college, so it will take a scholarship for him to go. He'll have to work hard at both his studies and his sports.''
At one time, soccer was Maxey's top sport. ``Now, I'm not so sure,'' he said. ``I'm serious about kicking. I'll have a routine and I'm looking at it for college.''
``Matt's going to be a good one. He's hit one from 60 yards in practice,'' Green said. ``We'd like him to spend more time [kicking], but obviously this is high school. He's having a great time doing both sports.''
The Franklin County football coach hopes Maxey, who unsuccessfully tried punting, too, will attend Mark Moseley's camp next summer.
This isn't Green's first attempt at recruiting a kicker from another sport.
``We had a kid who played golf at King George who was a kicker for me in 1982,'' Green said. ``He did OK. We just didn't give him many opportunities.''
Maxey, though, has scored 19 points and has an offense that is going to give him some opportunities, as evidenced by the Eagles' five-touchdown performance Friday night against Cave Spring.
``There's not much difference in kicking in soccer or football, except that in soccer the ball is round and easier to control,'' Maxey said. ``I don't think I'm consistent. I have my bad days. I don't always get my kicks down right.''
Still, for an athlete juggling two sports, as well as the books, Maxey is having a sensational fall.
by CNB