Shootout star Ryder Stewart now heads to regional competition in Florida
After dominating state contest, Ryder Stewart now heads to regional competition in Florida
Ryder Stewart was 3-yearsold when he first started playing soccer for a recreational league. Now, five years later, Stewart is preparing to compete in the Elks Lodge Southeast Regional Soccer Shootout on Jan. 19 following a victorious run at the state competition last month.
The soccer shootout is made up of two different contests, the “Five Goal Contest” and the “Grid Goal Contest.” Players who participate in the Five Goal Contest, like Stewart, are presented with a series of five goals that decrease in size from 48 inches to 17 inches and must attempt to score points by kicking into the goal from 18 feet away.
“They have the soccer goal sectioned off like a tic-tac-toe board. Each section is worth a certain number of points,” Stewart’s mom, Emily Stewart, explained. “The upper right hand is worth five points, which is the most. The upper middle is worth four points. The middle row on the ends are worth three points a piece and smack in the middle is worth two points. Anything on the bottom is worth one point. Each player gets three rounds of five shots each, so the highest score they can get is 75 points.”
Understanding this scoring system is important to the way that Stewart prepares for his competitions. His strategy, his mom said, is to try and get as many hits to the top corners of the goal as possible. That way, if he misses a shot or hits one of the lower point areas, he is still in a good place with points.
The plan seems to work. Stewart scored 39 points in his first shootout of the year, followed by 50 points in district competition and 51 points at the state contest. The steady improvement, Stewart said, is down to practice and natural talent. He has played 11 total seasons of
soccer, most recently under the leadership of Calhoun United and Calhoun AllStar coach Brandon Roberts and previously for Calicos Indoor Soccer in Dalton.
“He got a lot of experience from playing with kids who were better than him or just as good as he is. He would practice doing what he saw other kids do,” his mom said. “I think that helped him get a jump start on scoring.”
Stewart said he practices his shot before every team practice he has. He always aims for the right and left corners of the goal, and he never stops dreaming of taking home first place in regional competition. Going to Florida in January to compete against other players from South Carolina and Florida has been his plan from the very start.
Asked why, he said: “I have never been to Florida before and I always wanted to go.”
“He really has had his mind set on going to Florida. That was his goal from the beginning and he really wanted it,” Emily Stewart said. “He had that hope, and we are so proud he’s done so well and had great scores put up. If he goes down there and wins it all, I don’t even know how I could express how excited and proud I’ll be.”
Stewart’s dad, Daniel Stewart, has already thought about how he would express that pride and excitement. He promised his son that he would get a tattoo of Ryder playing soccer if he won at state competition. He hasn’t done it yet, but Stewart said he has faith his dad will go through with it.
“I’m pretty excited. He wanted to get a tattoo of me,” Stewart said. “I think he should get it on his back if I win.”