Jenkins is a 'vocal' leader for Tigers' soccer
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| PHS soccer senior captain Justin Jenkins has an enthusiastic greeting for teammate and fellow senior captain Sam Nelson during starting lineups Monday night at the Tiskilwa soccer pitch. Jenkins and the Tigers are looking to repeat as regional champions this year. (BCR photo/Chris Yucus) |
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PRINCETON — Princeton High School senior Justin Jenkins knows how to carry a defense — and a tune.
As a captain and leader of the Tigers’ soccer squad defense, Jenkins is constantly communicating with his fellow defenders on the soccer pitch.
“I’m very vocal back there, and I talk to the team ... I keep everyone’s attitude up, and I like being the captain back there,” Jenkins said.
And when he’s not talking to his fellow Tigers during practice or games, Jenkins, a four-year veteran of the PHS choir, might be singing to them.
“In practice, I sing a lot,” Jenkins said. “I always get the team to start singing.”
So what songs are in The Tigers’ repertoire for soccer practice?
“Some oldies, some Michael Jackson songs, something like the Beetles that everybody knows,” Jenkins said. “I start singing and everyone joins in.”
Jenkins said that he has tried to keep the Tigers singing into actual game time, but the PHS coaching staff is not crazy about the idea.
“In the beginning of the games, sometimes we do (sing),” said Jenkins. “But then the coaches yell at us.”
Bringing music to the Tigers is more about practicing for his duties with the PHS choir, Jenkins said.
“I think singing and having a good time with the team at team dinners and practice will draw us closer for the games so we can have a better attitude toward each other,” Jenkins said.
After previously playing as a midfielder in his soccer career, Jenkins made the switch to the sweeper position after an unlikely audition during play this offseason.
During a Tiger blowout in summer league tournament, Jenkins asked PHS coach Jason Bird if he could play defense with the second-team during mop-up duty.
“He said ‘Sure, why not,” recalled Jenkins, who quickly drew the eye of his coach with his defensive play.
“I was playing and he yelled out to me ‘I hope you like this position, cause that’s where you’re going to be playing,’” Jenkins said.
Also a member of the wrestling and track teams at PHS, Jenkins said the different dynamics of playing team and individual sports interests him.
“In soccer you have to depend on your team and you have to have the attitude to keep each other together during the game,” Jenkins said. “In wrestling, it’s all up to you. You have to have control about what you think about, because if you get down on yourself there’s no one to help you back up.”
A life-long fan of soccer, Jenkins hopes to continue his career at the collegiate level playing for Parkland or Illinois Central College.
“It (playing soccer) gives me the motivation to do well in school, and gives me something to look forward to every day.”
Jenkins said he would like to become a sports trainer and coach soccer in the future. He already has a bit of experience coaching, as he has been working to prepare his younger brother Trevor, 12, for high school soccer.
“I’ve been coaching my little brother for the past three or four years. I love it because I know how it is, I’m playing right now,” Jenkins said. “I can teach them so when they get older, everything will come together ... they’ll have what I’ve learned and keep getting better and better.”
Before Jenkins enters the collegiate or coaching ranks, he and the Tigers are looking to make an extended postseason run.
“If we keep our attitude up and start out strong, and play to our level and not our opponents’ level, I think that we can go pretty far,” Jenkins said. “Our defense is pretty good, and our offense can be good when they have a positive attitude and finish the ball.
If the Tigers are in need of a pick-me-up during the postseason, what musical offering will Jenkins provide to lift his team’s spirits?
“Probably either one of the ‘high school musical’ songs: ‘We’re All in This Together’, or I’ll just start beat-boxing or something and we’ll start laughing and pick our heads back up,” Jenkins replied.
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