Whittemore’s Comeback : SDSU Soccer Player Recovers From Broken Ankle That Kept Him Sidelined Last Year

It was the type of situation that most soccer players only dream about.

The gold medal match of the 1985 National Sports Festival. A scoreless tie. San Diego State’s Kyle Whittemore, representing the West, steals the ball. Only the goalkeeper is in front of him.

However, a player from the North slides into Whittemore’s legs from the side and Whittemore rolls his left ankle. Later, his ankle would require a steel plate and six screws.

Down and out.

“As soon as it happened, I knew it was gone,” Whittemore said. “I told the ref, ‘It’s broken; get me off the field.’ ”

After helping lead the Aztecs to a 14-6 record and setting several school records his freshman year in 1984, Whittemore was sidelined for 1985. It was the first time since he was 6 that he didn’t play soccer.

But after redshirting last year, Whittemore is back.

In his first match for the Aztecs since the injury, Whittemore scored a goal and added three assists in SDSU’s season-opening 6-1 victory over Cal State Fullerton last month. He leads the Aztecs in scoring with 12 goals and 7 assists.

Bolstered by Whittemore’s return, SDSU is 3-0-1 in the Southwest Soccer Conference and 10-2-2 overall. The Aztecs are ranked No. 15 in the nation and No. 3 in the Far West, according to the Intercollegiate Soccer Assn. of America. The Aztecs were 8-8-4 last year.

Aztec Coach Chuck Clegg attributes a lot of his team’s success to the return of Whittemore.

“Kyle is so dangerous,” Clegg said. “When people close in on him, that opens it up for other players. He has a presence. He knows where the goal is.”

Whittemore, 21, has been scoring goals for 15 years. Although he played other sports when he was growing up, primarily baseball and basketball, Whittemore has stuck with soccer.

“When I was 12, I pretty much had to make a choice (about which sport to devote his time to),” Whittemore said. “I was too short for basketball and too energetic for baseball.”

Like most youngsters, he learned soccer in an age-group program. Raised in Seattle, he attended first a private high school and later graduated from Ballard High School.

However, after high school, he took a year off. This did not please his parents.

“They were mad,” Whittemore said. “There was quite a bit of tension for a while.”

Whittemore tried several jobs, including working at a restaurant. By the end of the year, he was ready for college.

“After taking a year off, it was great when I went to school,” Whittemore said. “I was so pumped to go to school.”

After he was at SDSU for about six months, Whittemore was visited by his father.

“We went out to dinner and talked for six hours,” Whittemore said. “That was the first time we (had) talked in about two years. Things have really worked out.”

Things have also worked out for Whittemore in the classroom. After two years at SDSU, he has a 3.25 grade-point average in business administration.

“Someday, I’ll make a lot of money and I won’t work in a restaurant,” he said. “Unless I own it.”

The year off from school certainly did not hurt his soccer. Whittemore set four school scoring records his freshman year. His 21 goals broke the previous record of 17 by Micael Homstedt and he also set records for points in a season (45), goals in a match (5) and consecutive matches scoring a goal (6).

Then it all came to a halt.

The injury at the National Sports Festival left Whittemore in a cast for six weeks, a walking cast for four more weeks and then a brace for two weeks.

It also put him in the stands. At first, he attended practices and matches. But it was difficult.

“It’s strange having something like that happen,” Whittemore said. “I’d never been injured before. I was down all the time. I didn’t want to study or go to class. I spent a lot of time on the couch. I knew the television schedule pretty well: ‘General Hospital,’ ‘Days of Our Lives.’ Actually, my girlfriend got me hooked on ‘Days of Our Lives.’ ”

When Whittemore was able to play soccer again last spring, he joined the La Jolla Nomads and started his on-field rehabilitation.

“Everything was still weak and I was going through therapy,” he said. “I really didn’t feel like sticking it (his ankle) out in front of anything.”

By this fall, Whittemore was ready for the classroom and the soccer field.

“The first time I touched the ball,” he said, “some guy cracked me and I said, ‘Yep, I’m back.’ ”