It’s only June.
The end of the last school year is much, much closer than the start of the next one, which you still need binoculars to see.
So what happens now in a fall sport doesn’t really have that much to do with what occurs in two months or so the regular season begins. So much can - and probably will - change between now and then
However, based on what took place last Saturday in the ninth annual Polar Bear ShootOut, the players, coaches and fans of the Jackson High boys soccer team have to be encouraged that a deep run in the tournament, similar to that of the last two seasons, is definitely possible.
The Jackson seniors-to-be finished in what amounted to a tie for first place with Revere, from the Suburban League, in the 16-team varsity division.
The Bears defeated two fellow Federal League members to get to the title game of the seven-on-seven event, blanking Boardman 5-0 in the quarter-finals and then rolling past Perry 5-1 in the semifinals.
“By that time, we had played five games on the day. We were wiped out,” Jackson head coach Mike Biros said. “Revere had played a lot of games, too, so they were also wiped out. Because of that, we decided not to play another game and just called it a draw.”
Biros really like what he saw of the games the seniors did play, and also the performance of his juniors, who lost to Revere in the quarter-finals. These are the players who will do the bulk of the work this fall for a team that lost to Cleveland St. Ignatius in the Division I regional tournament championship game last year. In 2006, the Bears advanced all the way to the state title game before losing 2-1 to Hilliard Davidson.
“We have a lot of depth, and it showed over the weekend,” he said. “We have a really good group of upperclassmen who have played soccer all their lives. They’re a close-knit bunch.”
“If we can get out of the blocks fast this season and if some things can break our way, then there’s a good chance we can go far again.”
In addition to what the seniors and juniors did in the varsity division, the Jackson sophomores also excelled in the junior varsity competition, getting to the finals, where they were edged 2-1 by Wadsworth.
“This was a low-key event this weekend,” Biros said. “Because it’s seven-on-seven, the games are really fun.
“It was a good way to kick off the season and, after the kids played on club teams throughout the offseason, it was also a good way to get them back into the flow of high school soccer.”
Biros said the Bears will shut it down -- physically, at least -- for the bulk of the next two months. After all, it’s only June.
But after how they played over the weekend, soccer -- and the hopes of keeping the program’s strong tradition alive -- will still definitely be on their minds.
