Thinking outside of the box is not a problem for A.J. Stueck .

The 16-year old rising junior from Broofield, CT isn’t afraid to speak his mind on issues where he differs with many peers, such as high school soccer, playing abroad and even medical practices.

The last one definitely sets Stueck apart. A knee injury early in his freshman (U15) season might have prompted surgery, but the skilled midfielder opted instead for a longer rehabilitation sans scalpel.

“I didn’t have the surgery because I think by treating it the way we did it’s not as likely to be torn again,” Stueck said. “I ended up missing a lot of time, but I think it’s better this way.

The layoff may have derailed Stueck’s national team career for a time. He had been a regular in the U14 BNT pool in 2005-2006, but never made it back with the U15s in 2006-2007 after having played in that team’s initial camp, prior to his injury. He made the Region I ODP team last fall but opted instead to play with the Oakwood SC U16 Academy League team, which precluded him from playing ODP.

Stueck has no regrets about that decision.

“The Academy is awesome,” he said. “The showcases are great for being seen by the college coaches and the training and matches are great too.”

Oakwood coach Matt Cameron said this season, Stueck’s first with the club, has been something of a turnaround for the player.

“It’s easy for us to get the better players in Connecticut because of the Academy. When A.J. came in he had an impressive resume, but he was not that good at the beginning. He was really just like everybody else,” Cameron said. “I’m thinking ‘This kid can do so much more.’ I spoke with him and his father and said that I felt he was capable of doing more and that he was just kind of floating. In 12 years of coaching, I’ve never seen a kid respond the way he has. Basically it was almost like he was saying. ‘You want me to do this,’ and then he just started doing it. That conversation was 1/3 the way through the Academy season, and he was one of the top 3 players every game from then out. I’ve never seen anyone respond the way he did. He’s been a wonderful kid, a fantastic player and a great teammate.”

When we ask players who they admire in the professional ranks, we typically hear names like Messi, Kaka and Ronaldo. Stueck pointed out LA Galaxy star Landon Donovan, who twice declared his preference for playing in America over Europe. This is probably not a coincidence.

“I’m not set on going to Europe. I like how (Donovan) decided to stay here and help build up this league,” he said. “I don’t necessarily want to go overseas. I hope by that time, if I have the chance to play professionally, MLS will be more popular. I’d like to try and help this league get better.”

Similarly, Stueck makes no apology for his enjoyment of high school soccer, a frequent target of scorn among some of his high-level peers.

“I know a lot of people don’t like high school soccer but I enjoy playing it,” he said. “It’s very well supported here. If our team goes far at the end of the season we can have 2 or 3,000 people watching us.”

Cameron describes Stueck’s willingness to deviate from convention with “He’s very different in a very good way.”

Cameron said Stueck’s willingness to get more involved in the thick of the action as a big reason his improvement this season. He also noticed that his attacking prowess became more pointed.

“I would be like ‘A.J., go at the defense. You are an attacking player, the objective is to get the ball into the goal,’” Cameron said. “So he started running at guys and playing dangerous balls, which he’s quite good at. A lot of his attacking qualities were just possession-oriented. I told him I’d rather complete 60 percent of his passes going forward than 90 percent going backward. He kind of looked at me and said ‘OK’ and he just started doing it.” 

Stueck said that while he scores his share of goals, he prefers setting up others in front of goal. He’s highly skilled at running with the ball and has the vision and touch to play a killer through ball. He has maxed out on the famed “Beep” fitness test, but only weighs 130 pounds and is due for a growth spurt before leaving high school. This is something that has schools such as Boston College, Duke and Notre Dame pursuing him hotly.

Cameron is bullish on Stueck’s future.

“I think he will be extremely successful at the next level,” he said. “I think he’s someone who will go into the college environment and not be overly impressed. Not that he’s going to be above it or arrogant, but just that he won’t be a wide-eyed freshman. He’ll think, ‘This is where I belong.’

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