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Soccer career on hold for Ritchie Former South Medford and Washington standout will have a tryout with the Colorado Rapids of the MLS By TIM PYLE For a man whose professional career is currently on hold, Bryn Ritchie seems remarkably calm. But when you're a 22-year-old soccer star hanging out in Seattle in anticipation of an upcoming move to either Denver or Portland, life really isn't too imposing. A third-team All-American for the University of Washington men's squad last fall and a second-team All-American as a junior the season before, Ritchie has been working out with the Huskies in Seattle. "It's kinda nice," says the 6-foot-2, 190-pound fullback who was Oregon's Class 4A player of the year after leading South Medford to the boys state title in 1996. "I'm homeless. I just bounce around between friends' places and play soccer." Soon, however, Ritchie is headed to Denver for a one-to-two-week tryout with the Colorado Rapids of Major League Soccer. The Rapids selected Ritchie with the 28th overall pick in the third round of February's MLS draft. "I could see (going to Denver for the tryout) happening in the next week or two," says Ritchie, who estimates his health at 85 percent after the Nov. 30 surgery - the fourth on his right knee - to repair torn cartilage. As for making the team, Ritchie says, "There's a lot of circumstances involved. It's depending on who's over there, if they've got a roster spot and how well I've recovered." Ritchie already visited Colorado's facilities once, but the team opted to keep him on the sidelines until his knee was better prepared. "I went to a physical, and the doctor checked me out and didn't really say anything," Ritchie says. "So I was all kitted out, ready to play and was walking down the hill to the field when they called me back. They told me they wanted me to rehab a couple more weeks before getting into training. "I thought it was pretty funny. ... I had some scenarios going through my head - either I'll make it or I won't - but that wasn't one of 'em." Should he not stick with the Rapids, who are 2-0-1 in the early stages of the MLS season, Ritchie has a fall back in the A-League's Portland Timbers. The Timbers, who begin their season May 4 and play their home matches at PGE Park, picked Ritchie with the fifth overall selection of the A-League draft. "The coach (Bobby Howe), I talked to him, and he said if it doesn't work out with Colorado to come to Portland," Ritchie says. "I'd have to make the team and stuff, but they want me." Whatever the future holds, Ritchie believes the prolonged rehabilitation time he's been afforded can only help. "I think the extra two weeks or three or four weeks that it gave me will benefit me in the long run," Ritchie says. "It'll allow me to get stronger." Reach reporter Tim Pyle at 776-4483 or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.