Draft’s Wood heading to Bridgewater pitch

By Corine Gatti

Published: April 28, 2008

STUARTS DRAFT—No flash. No dash. No cameras.
Just another student heading off to college to play soccer. It was quiet affair that mirrored the personality of Alex Wood, the Bridgewater-bound Stuarts Draft boys soccer player.
“It’s a school that I have been looking at for a while,” the Cougar senior said. “I’m very excited to be able to play for them.”
And he will this fall.
Wood’s talent on the pitch is the only look-at-me thing about him, and that’s why Bridgewater coach Nino Altomonte recruited the forward.
“He brings excitement to a team.” Altomonte said, adding that Wood is not only a playmaker, but can energize a whole squad.
“He’s fast and he can score, but he has the ability to lift up a whole team by his level of play,” the former Wilson Memorial boys coach said. “That’s why we wanted him, he can bring that level of excitement to our team.”
Wood’s tenacity to get on the ball and his offensive threat will be a snippet of his legacy after he graduates from Draft. During an indoor practice Monday, Draft coach Chris Loomis said he was overjoyed he was able to coach No. 3 for the last two seasons.
“If you can shoot the ball and score that’s great,” Loomis said. “That solo ability is good to have. That doesn’t help the entire team. But to have someone that can all-around pick people up around them and carry them, that’s exciting for me as a coach to watch.”
Competition in the Southern Valley has stiffened, and it’s harder for soccer players to get signed, Altomonte said.
What made Wood special was his natural ability to raise the bar for himself and his team.
“Alex has the ability to raise up the people around him and that’s where greatness really comes,” Loomis said.
Wood wore his Bridgewater T-shirt and stood flushed face, but relatively calm when questioned about playing in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference.
He reassured that Draft is still a priority.
“Right now I’m still a Cougar and I really want to finish this district season well,” he said.
Wood has come a long way from his days in the Blue Ridge Recreational League when he was five. His intensity for the game has not changed much.
“It’s just my love of the game, I’m just a competitive person at heart and I don’t back down easy,” Wood said.
His gutsy and fiery approach to soccer caught the eye of Altomonte, who had Wood on his radar for two years. During a summer camp the Eagles’ coach bumped into Loomis.
“He knew that there was something special about him, and I told him that he would be very lucky to have Alex,” Loomis said.
Altomonte has a young team and is hoping that Wood can generate the same momentum he did wearing his maroon jersey.
“After watching him for a couple of years, I expect him to bring the same excitement to our team,” Altomonte said. “He has the talent and can play at a Division II and III level.”
Is the senior worried about leaving the den to play college ball? Not at all.
“They have a young team and I hope that I will fit in with them,” Wood said.
Loomis has no doubts that Wood will have a successful transition.
“Whether he’s playing offense or defense, he just has this magic to him when you watch him play,” Loomis said. “His energy is just infectious.”