SANDY — There are many interesting facets to the story of Alta senior Colby Swensen, but arguably the most compelling part is the fact that, when given a second opportunity by others, he ran with it.
"He got another chance," Alta soccer coach Lee Mitchell said, "and we don't always get second chances."
In 2005, Swensen, a talented striker, became academically eligible halfway through the boys soccer season and helped Jordan to the 5A state title. A year later, he's wearing the colors of the Beetdiggers' rival — Alta.
More importantly, Swensen's turned his life around off the field. He went from a near-failing student with little hope of graduating to a 3.3 GPA student who will graduate in June. Also, he's gotten away from a tough family situation and into a home with structure and support.
Finding structure or support from his original home was always hard. His father unexpectedly died when Colby was nine years old, leaving his mother, Tracy, to take care of Swensen and eight brothers and sisters.
Things got worse. Their house burned down a year later, and the family was unable to use insurance from their father's death because of a change he made 10 days before he died.
"I don't want to turn this into a sob story," Swensen said while recounting his youth.
The family eventually settled in a two-bedroom house, and Tracy did the best she could. "She's a trooper," said Swensen. However, things were understandably difficult for the large family.
Academically, Swensen never did well. As he reached high school, Swensen's grades were always poor during three of four quarters. The only time they were OK was after the third quarter of each year, which rendered him eligible for the end of the boys soccer season.
That was the case during his junior year. After becoming eligible halfway through the season, he played in Jordan's final 12 games. They were 3-4-1 without the striker, but with him in the lineup, the Beetdiggers went 10-2 and surprisingly won the state title. He scored eight goals in those 12 games, including the lone strike in a 1-0 win over Alta in the state semis. He also scored a goal in the title game.
After the championship triumph, however, Swensen basically stopped going to class. He accumulated a plethora of absences over the final month of school and failed most of his fourth-quarter classes.
That's where the Ballards came in. Greg and Debbie Ballard of Draper had known Swensen for years because their son, Derek, played soccer with him.
Last summer, they asked if he was interested in moving in with the family, which, in addition to Greg, Debbie and Derek, included 14-year-old Lauren. The move meant he would also be transferring to Alta.
"They said they'd help me with my grades," said Swensen, "and I said, 'I wanna graduate.' "
The Ballards had offered him the chance to move before, but, this time, Swensen accepted. He moved in with the Ballards, who helped him complete a huge amount of makeup work.
He was several credits short of graduation, but, with structure and support from the Ballards, he completed all the required makeup work. He also began to get good grades.
"They've been helping me out since day one," said Swensen.
Here are his grades this year: 3.4 GPA, first quarter; 3.3 GPA, second quarter; 3.2 GPA, third quarter.
His academic renaissance allowed the senior to start thinking about playing soccer for the Hawks. The move brought on plenty of controversy, though.
Up and down the state, Brighton-Alta is widely regarded as one of Utah's biggest high school rivalries. And for good reason — it is a huge deal.
But Alta and Jordan really don't like each other. At all.
So, when one of Jordan's top players from a championship team transferred to Alta, it wasn't surprising that controversy ensued.
According to Jordan athletic director Marc Hunter, when Swensen approached Jordan's administration about transferring to Alta, he said athletics weren't in the picture.
"He said he didn't care about playing soccer," said Hunter.
That's what made Jordan administrators upset when they learned he was petitioning for athletic eligibility at Alta.
Jordan protested the transfer, but the UHSAA sided with Swensen and granted him eligibility.
Swensen contended that Jordan's administrators didn't make a serious effort to help him academically.
"After soccer, they didn't care about me," he said.
Hunter completely disagreed.
"He never went to class," said Hunter. "He was in the vice principal's office time after time. (Coach) Shaine (Herrin) reached out to him time and again. (Vice principal Tom) Sherwood has documentation of how many times he was in his office."
More than anything, though, it appears Swensen's academic success at Alta has been due to his move to the Ballards.
Swensen felt Jordan was trying to block the move because they didn't believe he could recover academically. According to Swensen, the last time he saw Herrin, who declined comment for this story, the Jordan coach wished his former player luck at Alta.
On the other hand, Swensen said he'll be sending a graduation announcement to Jordan's principal. Swensen did say on several occasions, however, that he doesn't wish ill toward Jordan.
Moving forward, Swensen said he hopes to help second-ranked Alta have a successful season. Entering today's huge match with No. 1 Brighton, Swensen's scored five times. His pairing with junior Garrett Losee up top has the potential to be the state's most lethal attacking partnership.
What are Swensen's plans after graduation? He said he hasn't figured that out yet, but is considering possibly playing soccer at a junior college.
At least now, he's in a position to think about continuing his education.
E-mail: drasmussen@desnews.com