Having a Blast - Central grad Scheer playing for MISL title

Craig Scheer hasn't had a 'real' job since he graduated from college in 1998, but he's been able to make a nice living just the same.

The Cape Girardeau native has his considerable soccer skills to thank for that.

Scheer, a 1994 Central High School graduate, has been playing professional soccer the past six years, including the last two seasons with the Baltimore Blast of the Major Indoor Soccer League.

"I guess I've been living out a dream since I got out of college," a laughing Scheer said during a telephone interview from Baltimore. "It beats having a real job."

Scheer is a key member of the Blast, who recently won the MISL's Eastern Division playoffs to advance to a best-of-three championship series against Milwaukee beginning Saturday.

"It's a pretty exciting time, playing in the finals, because we struggled early in the year and we got into the playoffs as the third seed," Scheer said. "But we pulled two upsets on the road and now we're in the finals."

Scheer, a midfielder, has scored six goals and recorded 17 points this season for the Blast while serving as a regular member of their rotation.

In the MISL, which consists of eight teams and is basically the major leagues of indoor soccer, games are played on a field roughly the dimensions of a hockey rink, with five players per side plus the goalie. Like hockey, lines are used and changes are made on the fly. Scheer generally plays on the Blast's second line.

"It's a really exciting game," said Scheer, who filled a lesser role for the Blast last year, recording three points.

After finishing a stellar playing career at Central, Scheer attended Lewis and Clark (Illinois) Community College for two years, then transferred to the University of Illinois at Springfield, where he was a two-time NAIA All-American. Thoughts of playing the game he loves for money filled his head.

"I love soccer and I always thought I'd like to play professionally, if I ever had a shot," Scheer said. "Fortunately I had a shot."

Upon finishing his college career, Scheer was drafted by the Hershey (Pa.) Wildcats of the A-League and he played in that outdoor minor league for three seasons.

Several of Scheer's former teammates at Hershey suggested he try out for the Blast, which he did last year.

"I wasn't doing anything for the winter, they told me I should give it a try and I made it," Scheer said.

Scheer said he supplements his salary for the MISL season, which lasts about six months, by coaching at camps and for club teams on the side. He said he also gets free housing through the team. During the summer, he works camps in the St. Louis area.

"It might be different if I had a family going, but being single, I manage pretty well," said Scheer, who visits Cape Girardeau fairly regularly during his off-season in the summer. "As far as a 9-to-5 job, I haven't had to do that."

The 27-year-old Scheer, who majored in marketing in college, knows he'll some day have to get a 'real job.' He just hopes that day doesn't come any time soon.

"Barring injury, I hope to play for a long time, until I don't enjoy it any more," Scheer said. "Right now I still love it and I'm having a great time."