Tim Schulz saw the passion that Lindsey Horan showed while she was playing for the Colorado Rush soccer club.
That passion is part of the reason that Horan, a 22-year-old graduate of Golden High School, earned a spot on the 18-player United States' women's Olympic soccer team.
Schultz, who is now president and CEO of the Rush, used to be Horan's coach starting with the Rush U14 team.
"I was her coach and maybe later on when she was 16. Not only did she have the passion but the ability," he said. "Prior to that she had a passion. She was good but it wasn't like stellar. But around 16 you could see the gifts and talents.
"Athletes that go places need a passion. They must have ability and she combines both."
Horan has played in many venues and will now be a midfielder on the U.S. roster after the team was announced July 12 for the Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
"It's such an unreal feeling," she said on the USA soccer website. "I'm grateful and thankful to get this opportunity to represent my country at the Olympics.
"It's a special feeling knowing you represent your country and have all of these amazing athletes around you and we are all, at the end of the day, one big team."
Horan is one of two Colorado-bred athletes who made the USA Olympic team. The other player is 18-year-old Mallory Pugh who graduated in May from Mountain Vista High School in Highlands Ranch.
Pugh becomes the second youngest American women's soccer Olympian. She is about a month older than Cindy Parlow was during the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games.
from Lakewood Sentinel - Latest Stories http://lakewoodsentinel.com/stories/Golden-girl-makes-soccer-squad-for-Rio,228928
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