›› The Colorado Rapids made Davy Armstrong their first-ever homegrown signee on Aug. 16, 2010, when they inked the star midfielder to a contract right out of Aurora’s Rangeview High School. A few months later, the Rapids won their first and only Major League Soccer championship. Armstrong, who is 21, and his family still live in Aurora. We caught up with No. 28 at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park to talk about his nearly three years as a professional athlete:
Looking back, did you make the right choice to sign with the Rapids out of high school? What is life like now?
Going professional was my ultimate goal, so I still see this as the right choice. I’m here with my family and nothing beats that. … It’s a bit stressful at times because you’re not sure what your rank is in the team yet. You learn that this is your job and you’re growing up; you have to take it as a job and you can’t really slack off anymore.
Is the level of play what you expected it to be at the professional level?
It’s a lot faster than what I ever believed that it would be. There are always new challenges. The game keeps changing, so you have to change along with it. Everyone keeps getting smarter, faster, stronger, bigger. It gets hard to adjust to that, but you just have to keep working as hard as you can every day to get there.
Are there any Rapids players who have taken you under their wing or teach you the most?
(Regis Jesuit High School grad) Brian Mullan, he’s playing outside back right now. He is a veteran and a hard worker, so I like to watch him and see how he does it. He’s just a calm, composed player and he’s a good guy. If I’m working by him, he just gives me pointers and they work.
You got into your first MLS match last season against Houston, but what is your most memorable playing experience as a pro?
The one I remember most is Metapan in 2011 (a CONCACAF Champions League game) when we went down to El Salvador. I got in for about 40 minutes or so. I would have had a shot on goal, but some guy blocked it. I feel like I contributed, though, and we got the win even though a lot of people expected us to lose. Everything that could go wrong, did go wrong. We stayed at a hotel about two hours away and when we got to the stadium, we realized we didn’t have our cleats with us. We had to go next door and get some used cleats from a place like Play It Again Sports. People were wearing the wrong sizes. Fortunately, our cleats got there right before the game. Some guys had to use the other cleats, but I didn’t play until after halftime, so I was able to switch. To win after all that was great.
You helped out with the boys soccer team at Aurora’s newest high school, Vista PEAK, in the fall. What was that experience like?
I’m just doing it voluntarily, but it’s nice because I like helping out other people. I’m glad to help out my brother (Ri), and Jason (Elliott) was an old coach, so I’m glad to help him out. Also, it’s an Aurora school, so it touches close to home. … It’s good to see kids having joy in the game. A lot of times when I’m out here, I forget that, just to find joy in the game. n
Lately, many elite players choose to play club or Academy soccer and pass up playing for their high school team. What are they missing?
I honestly think they miss out on a lot. It helps with your confidence. It’s not the best competitive level, but it will help you in school. If you aren’t involved in school activities, it feels like school is a job where you are just wake up, go through the day and go home. If you play a sport, people get to know you and you get to know people. I had a great time playing in high school, especially getting to play with my brother my freshman year.
Davy Armstrong
Armstrong graduated from Rangeview High School in 2010 with career totals of 53 goals and 29 assists in four varsity seasons. He scored 18 goals and earned Continental League Player of the Year and NSCAA/adidas All-American honors as a junior. In Armstrong’s varsity career, the Raiders finished 53-14-9 and made the Class 5A state quarterfinals three times.
The lone Major League Soccer appearance for Armstrong so far came on Oct. 27, 2012, when he logged four minutes against the Houston Dynamo.
Armstrong has a brother and two sisters. His parents, Laura and Ri, still live on a 2 1/2-acre plot of farmland on the northeast edge of Aurora. Armstrong has Cambodian roots, as his father came to the United States as a boy by way of adoption and made the U.S. ski team for the 1980 Olympics in Lake Placid, N.Y.
The Rapids added a second homegrown player on June 19, 2012, when they inked Shane O’Neill out of Boulder’s Fairview High School.