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Show Bloomfield Plays Better Tennis But Prefers the Rigors of Soccer ! . 1 by I)aid Neu Record Correspondent Silting comfortably in Ins at l ie apartment on Park Avenue under the gabled tc-i J i n hung with old posters ul' motorcycle riders, rock stars and Bo Derek look alikes. Brooks Bloomfield looks more like a Rolling Stone cover prospect than a soccer player.' A guitar in an open on the bed and a page of music on the stand, completes the picture. "I haven't played for a while," Bloomfield says. "I'm really into music theory right now, I can practice later." Laid back, that's a minor trait of the 26 year old Bloomfield, who looks as if could take a double shot of Tequila, minus the lemon or glass, and then fall asleep before it hits his bloodstream. Actually he's a mainliner, taking a full schedule five days a week in music and elementary education at the University of Utah, working c . liny"; rx door to nis house as a cook at The Club and diligently playing the game of soccer the last five years tor the High Rollers, alter having organized the first team in 1(. Bloomfield left his home in West Itantoyrl, Conn, in the fall (.i U)74 one year out of high school, and headed out West on a motorcycle, landing a job as a ski instructor at Park West that fall which he has continued every winter since. He'd learned to play soccer in an intramural league when he was nine. In Junior High he joined the soccer team because "it was the only team that ever played any games. The football team didn't even have pads," said Bloomfield. At Prep School, he made the varsity team his sophomore year before discovering his competitive talent at iennis which replaced soccer until 'he first year out of high school, when he played club soccer. "Tennis is the sport I play the best, but let's not . mention it," says Brooks. "Soccer and skiing are my main sports now." "I've never been a real competitor. I yell a lot at the games, but 1 really don't care if we win, I just like to play well." Searching for a way to relieve the humdrums of summer lc)r. Bloom fie Id went on! ll) the Mucker's rugby practice and recruited a few latent soccer players who played against each other for fun that first year. When Father Pat Carley and City Activities Director Bruce Henderson got the team into the Salt Lake City Ll. in r;, Bloomfield said the game took off. "All of a sudden, we had games to look forward to," said Bloomfield. "It felt really great to have the best players on one team. We were a loose team, very individualistic, but with a lot of strong players." Bloomfield remembers their strong front line which included Rip Griffith, Lew Warner and Tony Brady. He credits Carley with teaching him how to play a strong physical game (in spite of the collar) and Mike Sullivan for teaching him the passive control end of the game. A lot of the game has come to Bloomfield only through the sweat of continued practice. "I've played for 17 years now and I've only begun to open my eyes and see where I should be on the field in different situations," says Bloomfield. "That's the key, we have to know our formation, think more about where we're going to pass and then move to get open to a pass." Bloomfield has a feeling for the other players' strengths and weaknesses and often times sets up the plays. He credits team captain Gary Moore with lighting the fire and keeping everyone invol ved as a team. About his music and elementary ele-mentary education goals, Brooks says, " I really don't know just what I'll end up doing. I only know if you're not enjoying something or constantly improving it's not worth doing. I love soccer and I love the teamwork. It's a great gfeeling when the teams play well together and when we do, we usually win," Bloomfield said. |