LITTLETON — The Hurting has been going on for Heritage soccer for 17 years, but it will reach a different level next school year.
The real ache already is being felt.
Tony Hurt — English and always the gentleman, and born about the same time as when Bond and the Beatles entered prominent places in mainstream culture — landed in Colorado with his British accent by way of Canada and a couple of U.S. stops. He soon will leave the Rocky Mountains for Seoul, South Korea.
He coaches the world’s game in high schools, so why not go see more of the world?
“Life is short, and I guess I found that out,” said the 49-year-old Hurt, who has headed the Eagles’ boys and girls teams and developed tenure in a local prep game that doesn’t have that much of it.
The past fall, Hurt suddenly experienced symptoms of a stroke between teaching classes. He could barely talk — “Only gibberish,” he said — and felt a bit dizzy.
Within half an hour, he said he felt fine. But he was kept overnight at a hospital as a precaution.
“It sounded worse than it was,” said Hurt, who also missed a post- season match. “I got it all checked out. It was just one of those things.”
Plus, he said, after discovering he had an irregular heartbeat: “It was better than just dropping dead.”
The last of the Hurts’ offspring also has vacated the nest, so the previously unforeseen opportunity seemed better than stopping a penalty kick with a match on the line.
Winding down a professional career with the chance to travel?
Where was he to sign?
“I wasn’t anticipating it,” Hurt said. “It’s too good to pass up.”
The other end of it is the void Hurt, who also put in time on the club level, will leave in Littleton. It will be considerable. In many ways, he has been one of the prominent faces of southern metropolitan soccer, an area where the game’s interest, participation and results have remained high.
Hurt, whose Eagles take on Chaparral today in the Class 5A Continental League and are 5-3 overall, recently passed the 300-victory mark combining his boys and girls seasons. His teams have made seven semifinal appearances and a couple of final showings the past 11 seasons in a consistent run.
But there have been no titles.
“That’s what has been missing,” he said.
More than winning matches, Hurt’s influence in teaching the basics as well as the intricacies of soccer and developing its passion in a not-always-receptive-to-it country may occupy the substantial portion of his legacy. As much as anyone on the prep level, Hurt understands soccer may be the world’s game with an astronomical following, but it continues to seek its place in American sports.
He likened it to softball: “Everyone plays it but doesn’t take it seriously.”
Overall, for him, the state of the prep game is a predictably mixed bag between genders.
“In this country, the women’s game is as good as it ever has been,” Hurt said, pointing to the number of rising scholarships. “The boys? Not so much.”
Once he arrives in Seoul in July, Hurt will be teaching history at what amounts to an advanced-placement school. He will be working with juniors and seniors and will be interested in gauging the level of play on his new beloved pitch.
It sounds as if he has a handle on it.
“They do have high school sports but not at this level,” he said. “I won’t be coaching Division I athletes . . . but I’ll get involved if there is.”
For now, Hurt will try to savor his final days as leader of the Eagles.
Consider it pain for a man named Hurt.
“It will be tough to walk away from this,” he said. “It won’t be easy.”
Neil H. Devlin: 303-954-1714 or ndevlin@denverpost.com
