Ramstein’s Maxim Speed heads the ball against Lakenheath in the Royals’ 2-0 victory on the first day of the DODEA European Division I boys soccer championships Monday, May 20, 2024, at Kaiserslautern High School. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)

Many offensive players are deemed as one-way players because of a perceived lack of defensive effort.

Ramstein’s Maxim Speed doesn’t fall into that mold, however. In fact, Stars and Stripes’ 2024 DODEA European boys soccer Athlete of the Year was an essential piece in central midfield on a team that kept a tight defensive shape as it reclaimed the Division I European trophy this spring.

Not that it came easy to Speed. The senior has played an attack-minded role for both his German club, SV Elversberg’s U-19 team, and school, be it on the wing, at striker or in the center of the field. But he buckled down when his team needed it.

“Obviously, as an offensive-minded player, I want to go up and I want to press and play high,” Speed said. “It’s definitely something that I needed to work on during the season … just staying back with my team, staying compact.”

By season’s end, it wasn’t evident that it was difficult for either him or the Royals (9-4).

The Ramstein defense swarmed opponents, especially during its tournament run last month in the Kaiserslautern Military Community. Whenever an opponent got into the final third, three defenders collapsed onto the ball.

Speed played his part in that. Coach Dominik Ludes described how that mentality from the team co-captain showed how much Speed had matured from the “goofy raw diamond” he was when he first joined the team his freshman season.

“(The players) look up to him, they follow his lead and that’s why it was such an important role for him to have this year,” Ludes said. “Whenever sometimes the team was struggling, he kind of takes over by example by winning a tackle, by making a pass, making a shot and then all of the sudden, the whole team responded to that, raised their own game as well.”

The Royals definitely raised their games in the postseason. They entered the European championships as the third seed, losing to the top two seeds, Stuttgart and SHAPE, three times by a combined scoreline of 9-3 in the regular season. Adding to the underdog status was a 1-0 defeat to the Spartans in Ramstein’s second pool-play match.

Yet the Royals took it to the Panthers during the semifinals, drawing 2-2 over regulation and extra time via zero goals over open play. Ramstein then proceeded to shock Stuttgart in penalties, 4-1.

Ramstein followed that up by scoring two goals early – including one in the opening 20 seconds – in the title match against SHAPE before winning 2-1.

Speed said the team didn’t doubt itself even after the pool-play loss to the Spartans, but it felt like destiny after the upset over the Panthers.

“We really believed that (the championship) was ours in that semifinal,” Speed said. “Once we beat Stuttgart, that was when our mentality was just so high, like our discipline was super high. Everyone believed so much that we could win that.”

Ramstein midfielder Maxim Speed pokes the ball toward goal while SHAPE midfielder Jorge Nubla go to block it during the Division I final of the DODEA European championships on May 23, 2024, at Ramstein High School on Ramstein Air Base, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Ramstein would not have made it past Stuttgart if not for its captain’s heroics.

Speed gave a shock lead early in the match with a free kick, and with three minutes remaining and his team trailing by one, the midfielder struck another free kick low to the right of Panther goalkeeper Caleb Fox.

The captain then cooly slotted home the Royals’ first penalty in the shootout.

His coach recalled talking to Speed before the tournament, saying the team was going to need a clutch performance from him at some point. And it came to fruition.

“That was probably his moment where he needed to step up and say, ‘Hey, I’m making sure that this team is not getting eliminated right now, and I’m taking over,’ ” Ludes said.

The player called the championship the perfect end to his Ramstein career.

He’s not expecting his soccer career to end anytime soon, though. Speed expressed his hope to go professional and will stay in Europe for the foreseeable future, highlighting Germany and Spain as possible destinations to pursue that dream.

He also has received international callups from Puerto Rico’s youth program.

For the next season, he will play with his Elversberg academy team in the NLZ league, a reformed youth setup that will involve academy squads from professional and amateur clubs.

“I definitely think work ethic is going to come into it,” Speed said. “(I’m) just going to show that I’m the best player on my team and try to be more forward and just climb the ranks.”