Unlocking Lapper’s Secrets to Success : Olympics: Never-say-die attitude carries him through Marina High School and UCLA and onto the U.S. soccer team in Barcelona.

There’s a tenacity about Mike Lapper. A never-let-up attitude that not only has made him a key player on the U.S. Olympic soccer team, but also the key player at the key moment.

It was the qualifying tournament for teams from North and Central America. The United States was playing soccer superpower Mexico in a first-round match-- in Mexico City.

With the score tied, 1-1, and less then 10 minutes left, Claudio Renya of the U.S. team fired a crossing-pass toward the goal. Out of a group of players came Lapper to head the ball into the net.

United States 2, Mexico 1.

“Scoring goals isn’t what I usually do,” Lapper said. “But there was the ball and I just got my head on it. Talk about exciting.”

Just another example of Lapper giving a little extra to get the job done.

That trait carried him through Marina High School and four years at UCLA. It also has put him in the Olympics.

“Mike just never gives up,” Olympic Coach Lothar Osiander said. “He goes after people and makes great tackles. He’s the type of power man you need to mark people.”

Lapper will be doing just that in Barcelona. He will be a starter on defense and usually will be covering the other team’s top scorer.

He earned that spot through two years of hard work in tryout camps, qualifying matches and other exhibition matches. When it was over, he left no doubt he belongs on the team.

“It took a long time to get to this point,” Lapper said. “I needed a lot of dedication.”

That’s inbred in Lapper.

UCLA Coach Sigi Schmid remembers when Lapper, his entire leg in a cast because it was broken, came to practice.

“Usually guys go half-hearted when they come back from an injury,” Schmid said. “Mike came out when he was still hurt and would get people to kick balls to him so he could practice his headers. I’d look over and there he would be, heading the ball 30-40 yards.”

Such workaholic tendencies have made Lapper a coach’s favorite since he began playing soccer as a kid.

“A lot of guys take it easy in practice,” said Joe-Max Moore, a teammate at UCLA. “Not Mike. Every day he’s working his butt off.”

Lapper was a standout at Marina and on club teams. He was named the Sunset League’s defensive player of the year as a senior, when he helped the Vikings win the league title.

He improved at UCLA. Lapper started all but one match on defense and showed an ability to score as well as prevent goals. He scored two times as a freshman and four as a sophomore, when he was named first-team All-Far West.

He scored three goals last season, when he was named first-team All-American.

“Scoring is all right, but I like playing on defense,” Lapper said. “It’s not a glory position. I like to make the tackle.”

Said Schmid: “When Mike makes the decision to tackle you, you know he’s coming.”

Lapper played for the U.S. under-20 team, which was coached by Osiander, in a tournament in France in 1989.

“After that tournament, I knew I wanted Mike to be on the Olympic team,” Osiander said.

Injuries were the only thing that stood in Lapper’s way.

During the Olympic Festival in 1990, Lapper played for the South--with his usual intensity. He went to tackle Cobi Jones, a teammate at UCLA, and broke his leg.

The injury kept him out for more than three months, which overlapped with UCLA’s entire regular season. Most players would have called it a season and redshirted, but not Lapper.

He returned in time for the Bruins’ first NCAA playoff match.

“Mike is very tough mentally,” Schmid said. “A lot of guys wouldn’t have been able to push themselves through the ordeal physically. Mike is very strong that way.”

Which was good for the Bruins, who were saved from elimination by Lapper.

In the first round, they trailed the University of San Diego, 1-0. Lapper took a pass from Moore and scored from 15 yards out.

The Bruins won in overtime, 2-1, and went on to win the national championship.

“I took a big gamble in coming back, but I wanted to win a national championship,” Lapper said. “I would have kicked myself if I hadn’t been a part of it.”

Now, he’s kicking for the Olympic team.

Lapper played a big role in helping the United States qualify for the Olympics. The team won the qualifying tournament, finishing with a 5-1 record.

Its biggest victory was over Mexico.

“We showed some people that day,” Lapper said. “The fact we were the underdogs playing a country that has always been good in soccer. . . . Hopefully, we can go to the Olympics and surprise some more people.”

Something Lapper is determined to do.