NAIA Student-Athlete Spotlight

Azusa Pacific University (Calif.)

Men's Soccer

Posted 09.05.06

Name: Skelly Kellar

NAIA School: Azusa Pacific (Calif.)

Year: Senior

Sport: Men's Soccer

Hometown: Mesa, Arizona

Azusa Pacific senior Skelly Kellar has started 61 straight games in the Cougar midfield. In his three years at Azusa Pacific, Kellar has helped the Cougars post a 47-11-3 record and is second in all-time career assists at APU with 23. Last season, Kellar was a 2005 NAIA All-Tournament and NAIA All-American honorable mention recipient.

"Skelly plays an important part of keeping things together for us, both offensively and defensively," said Azusa Pacific head men’s soccer coach Phil Wolf, the 2005 National Soccer Coaches Association of America Coach of the Year. "He really makes us go, and it’s great to have a senior in that spot."

The 48th NAIA Men’s Soccer National Championship will be held Nov. 15-21, 2006, at Embry-Riddle University in Daytona Beach, Fla. Click here for more information on NAIA men’s soccer.

Name: Skelly Kellar

Nickname: Skells

Dream Travel Destination: Italy

Most Prized Possession: Soccer Boots

Morning Jog or Sleep In? Sleep In

Strangest eating habit? Cereal at almost every meal

Favorite Color: Green

Favorite Type of Music: Coldplay and U2

Favorite Food: Mexican. I love carne asada.

Dog Person or Cat Person?

I am definitely a dog person. I have a Pit Bull.

Coffee or Tea: Coke

Strangest thing you have brought to practice? the Dog

Favorite thing to do outside of soccer? Hang out with friends, go to the beach, and have an adventure

Dream Job: Soccer Player

Favorite Movie of All Time: Gladiator

Favorite thing about Azusa Pacific University: My favorite thing about APU are the people I meet. There are some amazing people at the school, and I wish I had a chance to get to know them all. But most of all, my favorite thing about the school is the team. I love the team.

What does your team stand for? Our team stands for honoring God in everything that we do. We believe that the only way that the game of soccer is important is if it is eternal. We want to leave an eternal impression everytime we step on the field.

What qualities and character traits do you bring to your team? Well, obviously I am not perfect, but I bring hard work, intensity, and experience to the team. I have played Premier Development League for four years and through that I had the opportunity to play with older, more experienced players, which has allowed me to learn from them. This year, our team is really focused on doing the little things that make the difference in a season.

How do you incorporate the NAIA Champions of Character values (respect, responsibility, integrity, servant leadership, and sportsmanship) into your role on the soccer field? With respect, we want to always respect our opponents in every way possible. It doesn’t matter if they are 10-0 or 0-10 we want to give them the respect they deserve. We want to help them up when they are down and even give an encouraging word. We want to represent ourselves to the refs and fans in a very respectful way. With responsibility, we want to be as professional as possible in every way possible. With integrity, we want to honor God through what we do. Our character is very important to us and we want to represent ourselves, our coaches, and our school the best we can. With servant leadership, we want to be servants to everyone we come in contact with. We want them to look back on their memory of us and think, “Wow, there was something different about those guys.” Lastly, with sportsmanship, going along with the whole idea of putting “God First,” we want to play hard and never give up. When we make mistakes or get called for a foul, we want to help the guy up, apologize, and keep on going. Honoring God is the most important thing to us and these five values are very key to doing that.

What is your best soccer memory from your time at Azusa Pacific? Well, my favorite memory is our run through nationals last year only to come up a bit short. However, the thing I look back on and remember the most are two things. First, the players who I have played with and against that have helped make me the player and person I am today. And the second thing is our comebacks. For some reason, we have always had the ability to come back from being down and win the game. It is something special and something that I will never forget. It has been my privilege to have fought next to these guys for three years, and I am definitely ready for one more year.

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