Trembly's tough on field, easygoing off

On the field, you'd be hard pressed to find a soccer player who works harder than Seth Trembly. Off the field, you might not find a more easygoing guy.

"What you see is what you get," said Real Salt Lake coach John Ellinger.

The 5-foot-6 Trembly isn't afraid to mix it up with bigger players, as he did with Chivas USA 6-foot-3 defender Ezra Hendrickson in a win last week. Off the field, give him a guitar and a couch, and he could jam to Jack Johnson or Oar for hours.

But it "definitely has to be acoustic," said Trembly.

Real Salt Lake fans got their first true glimpse of Trembly's tireless work rate last Wednesday when he started and scored a goal in a win over Chivas. A few days earlier, Trembly played just six minutes as a substitute against the Galaxy.

Fans may not have known who Trembly was when he first stepped on the field, but they might've known his story.

During Trembly's rookie season with the Colorado Rapids back in May 2000, he received some national notoriety as the kid who missed a soccer game to go to his prom. Eighteen at the time, Trembly had just finished his final term at Arapahoe High School in Colorado, and naturally wanted to attend his senior prom.

Unfortunately, the prom and the Rapids game were on the same night. His coach at the time, Glenn Myernick, gladly gave him permission to miss the match.

Trembly had enjoyed five productive years with the Rapids, but that ended this April when Colorado shipped him to Salt Lake for a 2006 supplemental fourth-round pick. Making matters worse, Trembly was traded three weeks into the season, and therefore missed nearly two months of valuable training camp to learn teammates' tendencies.

Real Salt Lake coach John Ellinger knew Trembly's adjustment period would be short, and was just thrilled about acquiring the familiar face.

Trembly was one of Ellinger's players during his days as the Under-17 U.S. National Team coach. Ellinger said Trembly was just as tenacious on the field then as he is now.

"He's always been a feisty player. He wears his emotions and heart on his sleeve," said Ellinger. "If the level of intensity is low, Seth can bring it up for the whole team, he has that ability."

With Real facing defensive and midfielder uncertainty for Saturday night's home match against Chicago, Trembly may very well garner his second start in a Real uniform.