Big day for soccer player

BOONE, Iowa — It's been an exciting few months for 12-year-old soccer player Jared Dow.

Aside from playing on the Boone Area Soccer Club, he was identified among the state's best as a member of the Iowa Olympic Development Team.

“I just like the game. It's fun,” said Jared, the son of Boone residents John and Billie Dow.

The 12-year-old plays as a midfielder and striker. According to his mother, “there's no time to be bored,” because he's always on the move in the middle of the game.

Playing the two positions requires Jared to cover the entire field. As a striker, he focuses on trying to score goals in the offensive aspect of the game, but as a midfielder, he drops back and plays his defense.

Fortunately for Jared, he loves being on the run. During a typical hourlong game, he runs about 6½ miles.

Being a member of Boone Middle School's seventh-grade cross country team helps him go the distance. He said the extra running keeps him in shape.

His soccer coach, Andy Commins, encouraged him to tryout for a spot on the Iowa Olympic Development Team.

Attending a three-day camp at Grinnell College in August, Jared certainly had his hands full. He was on the field or in the classroom studying the game from 7 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.

“He's attended a lot of different soccer camps,” Billie Dow said. “The kids who have attended these camps had a special invitation to try out for the team.”

Along with hundreds of other soccer players from across the state, Jared tried out for the Iowa Olympic Development Team in Des Moines in August. After nearly three hours of focusing on shooting, defensive, offensive, passing, foot, speed and communication skills, he was selected as one of 20 players to join the elite team.

Although he said the tryout was intense, Jared is glad to join the team. Once a month he travels to Cedar Rapids for practice.

His first practice was in October, where he and his new teammates focused on quick passing.

“They want you to think faster than what you normally would,” he said.

Jared and his new teammates will continue to practice until January and will then begin playing in tournaments against teams from surrounding states.

Once the Midwest tournaments come to a close, a regional team will be selected to compete nationally. In the end, a national team will be chosen to play internationally.

The Olympic development team differs from Jared's hometown soccer team, which is coed. Competing against other states will also be a new experience for him.

He is hoping to study his competition while discovering where he needs to improve his game with the hopes of earning a spot on the regional and national teams.

Despite the soccer's growing popularity, there are still a lot of aspects of the game that most Americans don't understand, he said.

Jared's older brother, Zack Dow, a junior running back on Boone High School's Toreador football squad, liked to poke fun at soccer, calling it a non-contact sport.

However, after coming to a few of his brother's games, his opinion of the sport changed.

“When he came, he was like, ‘Wow! There's a lot more contact and a lot more running,'” mom Billie Dow said.

Though he's new to the Olympic development team, Jared says the experience already differs from local soccer.

“It's sure a lot more intense than our soccer,” Jared said. “It's more competitive.”

Playing on teams with players with more advanced skills is nothing new for Jared. Being on the 14-year-old team as a 12-year-old, he's playing with athletes who are two years older than he is.

“He's always stood out. He's usually been asked to move up to the next level,” said Billie Dow. “Everybody's always noticed that he's a little more driven out there.

“His skills were just a little more advanced.”

Joining the Olympic development team, on the other hand, has allowed Jared the chance to compete with others who possess similar skills.

“Everybody's at the same skill level,” Billie Dow said. “It makes a huge difference because in club, everybody plays, whereas here, it's the elite players of Iowa playing together.”

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