On the mend
Royal High's Paris Figueroa was a goal-scoring machine before being sidelined by a hamstring injury
By Thomas Gase tgase@theacorn.com

TEMPORARY SETBACK- Royal High boys' soccer player Paris Figueroa, who pulled a hamstring earlier in the season, has been undergoing a rehab program to return to the field as soon as possible. Before getting hurt, Figueroa scored 12 goals in seven matches for RHS. BILL SPARKES/Acorn Newspapers

This season the Royal High boys' soccer team has gotten off to a great start with a 13-2-2 record. Much of the team's success can be placed on the golden foot of junior forward Paris Figueroa.

Although the Highlanders are loaded with talent, the offensive play of Figueroa has been mind blowing. In only seven games, Figueroa had 12 goals and two assists.

It seemed nobody could stop the junior- no one except himself.

Unfortunately, by pulling his left hamstring in a game against Thousand Oaks three weeks ago, that's exactly what happened. He's now out, and the timetable for Figueroa's return to the pitch stands at a week- at best.

Not that the injury has kept the Highlanders down. In the seven games Figueroa has been out, the team has won five while drawing ties in the two others. Royal, however, would still like to get one of its best players back as soon as possible.

"With him on the field, our team improves greatly," head coach Kevin Corley said. "At any time during any point of a game he is capable of scoring a goal. Having that kind of player on your team is pretty exciting."

Last season Corley decided to make a switch and move Figueroa from defender to the forward position where he could make more of an impact on the offensive end. The move has paid off, and that surprised Figueroa.

"I definitely did not see myself having this good of a start," Figueroa said. "I mean scoring 12 goals this early has been great.

"It was a little difficult making the switch to forward. Those positions are like night and day," he said. "In my entire high school career, defense has been drilled into my head. Defense wins championships, I was taught. Now focusing on offense, it has been a little different. But I don't care whether I play defense or forward. I'll play whatever position helps us win more games."

According to Corley, Figueroa's work ethic and speed also contributed to his great start.

"He has a huge passion for this game," Corley said. "He loves to play and works just as hard as anyone I have ever seen on improving his game. He will spend up to an hour after practice just working on his scoring."

Although his work ethic has been great, Corley said the thing he and his coaches noticed during Figueroa's freshman year was his quickness.

"I have been coaching since 1992, and he is by far the fastest soccer player I have ever coached," Corley said. "If you get behind him, he's gone. It's as simple as that. There is no catching up to him."

While his speed is fast and his ability to finish has paid off because of it, Corley still thinks Figueroa has room for improvement.

"He still has to work on his heading," Corley said. "I think even he will tell you that."

A l t h o u g h Figueroa said it has been very frustrating not being able to contribute while being sidelined, he is confident that his team can win games without him.

"This team is the best team I've been on since I've been at Royal," Figueroa said. "We have been playing together as a team very well, and I think we have a lot of talent and potential."

Corley agreed that the team would be just fine while Figueroa is out.

"I hope he comes back soon, but I'm glad we have found a way to win without him," Corley said.

"In a weird way his injury has been good for the team because it seemed we were relying on him too much for a while, and now the team is performing well without him and they have more confidence. Once we get him back, we will be really tough to beat."

Teammates look for Figueroa to be a leader.

"I'd say he is a leader on this team, just on his knowledge of the game alone," Corley said. "I think his confidence and his maturity have grown a lot over the last two years."

Royal plays at Newbury Park today at 6 p.m. Figueroa isn't expected to be on the field.