JB Marine College Recruits

In an effort to begin catching up on the players who are committing to college programs for Fall 2007, I met with a pair of young ladies who recently completed their club season with JB Marine – Springfield. Pictured are Jessie Yach, Nixa 2007 (on the left) with Christina Ogden, Catholic 2007 (on the right) along with their coach, Lindsay Paulsell (Drury 1999). Both young ladies are headed for the soccer-rich Heart of America Athletic Conference (HAAC).

Jessie has signed with the Missouri Valley Vikings (Marshall, MO) while Christina will play for the Central Methodist Eagles (Fayette, MO). The signing process for both players was remarkably similar. As Jessie described it, Coach Paulsell emphasizes choosing College Showcase tournaments for the club teams and it was a direct result of that focus that led each player to their school. In this case, it was the Metro United FC Girls College Showcase tournament last October that created the opportunity.

Jessie plays midfield and forward and is a familiar opponent, especially noticable for her willingness to crash the box and challenge for any ball. She began playing as a five year old, beginning her career with the Lee’s Summit Renegades, a group that has seen lots of success including two State Championships as a core of girls moved onto Lee’s Summit West. Jessie and her family came to the Springfield area in the fifth grade and she continued her competitive club play with Spirit. When JB Marine began she and a number of girls from the Ozark and Nixa area jumped on the opportunity to work with Coach Paulsell. While she did create a video for recruiting purposes, it was at the tournament where an assistant coach from Missouri Valley first approached her. When the head coach was able to catch a couple of games at the Tulsa Showcase event later in the year, it didn’t take long for Jessie to make a decision. With a combination of A+ financial support and Missouri Valley’s support, Jessie is looking forward to studying biology and continuing her career in Marshall. Located just West of Columbia, it’s a good group of girls that she feels comfortable with and close enough for her parents to continue to cheer her on.

For Christina, the path to Fayette, MO and the Eagles was identical, opening discussions last October and finding a good fit with the team, coach and school. Christina is planning on pre-med and that rigorous academic program combined with NAIA soccer will allow her to continue both of her passions. Christina was a new addition to the JB Marine program this Fall and as Coach Paulsell noted, having her in goal this year offered her teammates a level of confidence that had a direct impact on the success the group had during their Fall tournament swing. Her willingness, and desire, to take on the wild and wooly position of goalkeeper is something she came to early. While she lacks the physically imposing size that is a requirement of D1 programs nationally, she did flirt with a few programs while she spent time on the road playing for St Louis programs including the early Mamba’s program and then Lou Fusz. She’ll be pushing her Catholic teammates to achieve at the same level as the basketball program this Spring.

The opporunity to be successful at finding a program that fits, both athletically and academically, while playing for a Springfield-based program is the nicest part of this story for me. This is a key season for junior boys although as both Jessie & Christina demonstrate, all is not lost if you haven’t made your decision yet. It doesn’t hurt to begin that planning process sooner rather then later and the key is working with your club coach to reach out to the right programs.

Recent grads playing in the HAAC including Katie Brooks (Wm Jewell ’09/Parkview ’05) and Jesus Zuniga (Avila ’10/Nixa ’06) which is also the home of Evangel University. Good luck to all the Springfield players who are representing in the HAAC!