Blue Jays have more athletes to work with

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Thanks to a small shift in policy, Jamestown High School boys soccer coach Colin Rose has a quite a few more bodies to work with this season.

Rose estimated the team had 11 or 12 returning players from last season, and a shift to give junior high kids automatic varsity eligibility has boosted the program’s numbers to 30. Previously, there was a petition process that still exists for some sports at JHS like football, basketball and volleyball.

Rose said the move allows the program to have a junior varsity.

“Last year, we were just hoping to have a JV,” Rose said. “This year, we definitely will. We definitely have the numbers for it. That extra 17 includes freshmen, also.”

The Blue Jays open the season at the East-West Classic at Rotary and Heil Fields, near the high school. The event features 12 matches in approximately 11 hours. Jamestown plays Fargo North at 10:45 p.m. and Grand Forks Red River at 5:45 p.m. in the final match of the day. Both are set for Rotary Field.

Though Rose will have more bodies to instruct, he’s counting on some of his veteran players to help him out.

Rose said senior captain Hunter Munson is the ideal example for the team concept he envisions. After being a midfielder last year, Munson is being moved to goalkeeper, as the Blue Jays’ options at the position are extremely limited.

“Goalies are hard to come by in Jamestown,” Rose said. “He’d like to be on the field, but he’s willing to do what he has to for the team. That shows he certainly has respect for the team.”

Senior Michael Hust returns as a defender to make the team’s defense its most reliable asset. Rose said that’ll be instrumental as the Blue Jays turn to a more aggressive offensive style.

“We’re gonna try to change our formation to be more offensive,” Rose said. “We want to take more chances going forward, instead of just laying back and packing it in. Having those two makes it more comfortable for us changing it up.”

Jamestown will also look to sophomore Jacob Sherfy at midfield for success.

“He’s one of our more experienced players,” Rose said. “He’s pretty intense in practice. He expects more from other players and also himself.”

A dark horse might be forward David Baxter, a sophomore who grew over the summer.

“It seems like he grew a foot in the offseason,” Rose said. “He’s gotten a lot faster and a lot quicker.”

The youth on the team could be hard to overcome, as Rose said 75 percent of the team is made up of sophomores or younger. However, Rose said he likes that the team’s younger players grew up playing together.

“They’ve been playing together since they were really young,” he said. “That’s hard to come by. I think that’ll translate well onto the field.”

Sun sports writer Chris Aarhus can be reached at (701) 952-8462 or by e-mail at caarhus@jamestownsun.com

Tags: jays, soccer, sports