From Star Keeper to Kicker

NORMAN, Okla. -- Since he was old enough to walk, Garrett Hartley has been kicking a ball. He was an outstanding young athlete who had big aspirations. Yet, the ball he was kicking as a small child was not the ball Sooner fans have grown accustomed to seeing him kick on warm, Saturday afternoons in Norman.

Hartley started playing the sport of soccer at the age of three. He spent his time kicking balls into a net rather than through a goal post.

"Once I was able to run, I was out playing," Hartley said. "I played peewee soccer on a small field, and I kept playing all the way up until high school."

He stuck with his soccer ambition and played forward some, but spent most of his time as the goalkeeper.

Hartley's dad, Bill, could see his son's talent.

"He was an extremely good keeper from a very early age," he said.

"Football was something

I was always interested

in. I guess I found my

true calling."

Like most children, Hartley found time when he was not on the soccer field to play with a football in the front yard. It's not an uncommon dream for children to imagine themselves as the star quarterback, throwing passes to wide open receivers for the winning touchdown.

Hartley, however, was a kid who practiced football with his leg, not his arm.

"I would always mess around in the front yard," he said. "I would get on the neighbor's side of the street and kick it across, trying to split two big trees in my front yard."

He also had the help of neighbor friends.

"I would have my neighbors hold the ball for me and I would just kick it in the street," he said.

Like many young athletes, Hartley decided to play two sports. Along with playing soccer and being a star keeper, he played the linebacker and receiver positions for his middle school's football team.

Although the pigskin ball had him interested, playing keeper in a soccer uniform was his passion and dedication. At the age of 10, he escalated his soccer competition.

"I played club soccer around Fort Worth and Dallas, " he said. "Our team was in the top 10 nationally. I ended up playing in the Olympic Development Program, and made the regional team."

Hartley also played for the North Texas state team for four years and made the regional team as the team's goalkeeper.
According to his father, it was no small feat to be picked to play in those prestigious leagues.

"He played select soccer, which was a top-of-the-line league in young men's soccer," he said. "It takes a special athlete to play at that level."

The younger Hartley expected great things to come of his soccer talent.

"Soccer was something I thought I was going to college to play," he said.

He transferred schools before his freshman year to play with his older brother, Taylor, on Southlake Carroll's soccer team and continued to play football at his new school. He spent time on the field as the punter and kicker. The decision to move to a new school proved to be a good one.

"I ended up going out there, kicking it around and found some playing time on the varsity soccer team as a freshman," Hartley said.

The Hartley brothers and their teammates won the state championship in soccer that year. His career as a keeper was looking bright, and dreams of playing in college were getting closer until his sophomore year.

"I broke my fibula that year playing soccer. It was a hard decision to make on whether or not I could continue playing."

After recovering from the injury, Hartley set his sights on football. He played four years of high school football, three of which were on varsity.

Hartley knew he could have success as a kicker. "Not a lot of people kick well. I figured since I was a keeper and was always kicking goal kicks that I could kick a football."

That dedication to a different sport that had always played second fiddle in his athletic career became his new focus. Hartley was an outstanding high school kicker, and found his way to the OU football camp after his junior year.

"I was the only kicker at the OU camp out of about 500 kids," he said. "They filmed me kicking at the indoor stadium. I did accuracy drills, kicks from 60 yards as well as sideline drills."

The next morning at the camp, Hartley found himself in high company on the practice field. Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops and former Sooner kicking star Uwe von Schamann watched Hartley kick and were quickly impressed.

"It is not every day you have the head coach out there watching a high school player kick a football," Garrett said. "I ended up having a really good day, missing only one of about 25 or 30 kicks."

When Stoops offered the opportunity to become a part of the Sooner program, it was a quick decision for Hartley.

"I really liked Oklahoma because I am a family-oriented person. I was trying to find the best situation for me. The OU coaches were down to earth and were straight up with me."

His soccer career history, Hartley began a new chapter at Oklahoma as a star kicker, a role that his dad is pleased about.

"My wife, Cookie, and I are extremely proud when we see him kicking at a school like OU," the elder Hartley said.

Hartley believes everything that occurred was for a reason. "Even though soccer was my No. 1 sport growing up, football was something I was always interested in," he said. "I guess I found my true calling."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Story by Mitch Heckart | OU Athletics Media Relations

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Related News

Related Videos

Sponsors