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Big goals for Hudson ’keeper
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| Hudson Lady Bluehawks goalie Jackie Hall (Chip Moon photo) |
By Brian Radewitz
HUDSON — Hudson High School’s Jackie Hall began playing soccer at the age of 5 and her journey in the sport has been a roller coaster ride ever since.
Hall has been involved in soccer programs including, but not limited to, the Hudson Department of Youth Soccer Program, Chatham Soccer Club, Albany Alleycats Premier Team, Bethlehem Soccer Club, Adirondack Lynx Team, Jason Raymundo’s Game Saving Academy, Watt Soccer Training School, Tech Valley High and Hudson High School.
The star goalkeeper has also been a guest goalie for various soccer clubs and was recently selected to participate in the European Soccer Tournament, to be held in Valencia, Italy in July 2010.
Tired yet? Hall’s grandfather Dave McGrath sure is.
“I don’t know how she juggles the school work and all of the different teams, with practice and games and everything else,” stated McGrath, who shuffles Hall from school, to practices and to games. “Jackie has a hectic schedule but she makes it all work. I’m running my a-- off trying to keep up with her.”
For the past year McGrath has been taking Jackie to training sessions at the Watt training school, run by goalkeeping extraordinaire Bernie Watt.
“Jackie has gotten a lot more out of Bernie Watt than she did at other academies,” said McGrath. “Bernie is big time and he really trains his players hard.”
Hall expresses similar sentiments when asked of her training at the Watt Academy.
“We work really hard there, but I like how much he pushes me to get better,” said Hall. “I have gotten a lot better with my crossbar and have learned a lot this past year.”
Watt has trained numerous professional soccer players and has had great success running the academy.
“Jackie Hall has shown great progress this year. She is still a pretty young player but she has good potential and has a willingness to work hard and make changes in her game,” stated Watt. “I definitely think that Jackie has the potential to play at the next level (college), but for the time being we are just trying to get her refocused after a long high school season. She saw a lot of action in the goal this year and we want to keep her on track for the rest of the year and the summer trip.”
The goalie position is arguably the most important position on the field in soccer and Hall relishes in the pressure that comes with the territory.
“On my modified team our goalie wasn’t really good and that annoyed me,” she said. “I tried it and really liked it. There aren’t many good goalies around and I really like the pressure.”
This month, Hall has become a part of the Adirondack Lynx team in the Black Watch Soccer Club’s Northeast Division. The team is a premier traveling tournament team that competes against the top soccer players in the state.
At the end of her sophomore year of high school, Hall will embark on a journey that few American high school athletes get to enjoy. Jackie, along with other area soccer players, travel to Europe and play various teams in a number of countries over a two-week span.
“This is my first time traveling overseas,” said Hall. “I’m very excited about the opportunity.”
The team will touch down in London and play some matches before flying to Rome, then Florence and then to Tuscany. During the $4,000, all-inclusive trip, the American girls get a chance to play against girls from Britain, France, Italy, Germany and other countries in Europe.
“They also have a number of cultural events planned, like going to museums and visiting tourist attractions,” stated McGrath. “We are doing some coin drops and will raffle off a weekend at Jiminy Peak (to raise funds for the trip).”
Not only does Hall have an opportunity in athletics that many will never get, but she also has an opportunity in the classroom which many students never receive. Hall takes classes at Tech Valley High, located at SUNY Albany, as part of a program associated with Hudson High School.
“It’s a really hands-on school. We do mostly everything with computers,” noted Hall, who would like to be an athletic trainer after college.
Tech Valley takes in students from 39 school districts across seven Capital Region and Hudson Valley counties, and focuses on teaching team work, individual responsibility, communication, problem solving and initiative.
“The kids at the school were instrumental in the designing of Guitar Hero a couple years ago,” stated McGrath.
Although there are less available slots in college for a goalie than a striker, both McGrath and Watt are certain that there will be an open position for Hall when the time comes for her to pick a school.
“If you’re good enough, there will always be a spot on the roster for you,” stated Watt. “Right now we’re focused on the upcoming tournaments and next year the college process will start.”
Hall has been involved in soccer programs including, but not limited to, the Hudson Department of Youth Soccer Program, Chatham Soccer Club, Albany Alleycats Premier Team, Bethlehem Soccer Club, Adirondack Lynx Team, Jason Raymundo’s Game Saving Academy, Watt Soccer Training School, Tech Valley High and Hudson High School.
The star goalkeeper has also been a guest goalie for various soccer clubs and was recently selected to participate in the European Soccer Tournament, to be held in Valencia, Italy in July 2010.
Tired yet? Hall’s grandfather Dave McGrath sure is.
“I don’t know how she juggles the school work and all of the different teams, with practice and games and everything else,” stated McGrath, who shuffles Hall from school, to practices and to games. “Jackie has a hectic schedule but she makes it all work. I’m running my a-- off trying to keep up with her.”
For the past year McGrath has been taking Jackie to training sessions at the Watt training school, run by goalkeeping extraordinaire Bernie Watt.
“Jackie has gotten a lot more out of Bernie Watt than she did at other academies,” said McGrath. “Bernie is big time and he really trains his players hard.”
Hall expresses similar sentiments when asked of her training at the Watt Academy.
“We work really hard there, but I like how much he pushes me to get better,” said Hall. “I have gotten a lot better with my crossbar and have learned a lot this past year.”
Watt has trained numerous professional soccer players and has had great success running the academy.
“Jackie Hall has shown great progress this year. She is still a pretty young player but she has good potential and has a willingness to work hard and make changes in her game,” stated Watt. “I definitely think that Jackie has the potential to play at the next level (college), but for the time being we are just trying to get her refocused after a long high school season. She saw a lot of action in the goal this year and we want to keep her on track for the rest of the year and the summer trip.”
The goalie position is arguably the most important position on the field in soccer and Hall relishes in the pressure that comes with the territory.
“On my modified team our goalie wasn’t really good and that annoyed me,” she said. “I tried it and really liked it. There aren’t many good goalies around and I really like the pressure.”
This month, Hall has become a part of the Adirondack Lynx team in the Black Watch Soccer Club’s Northeast Division. The team is a premier traveling tournament team that competes against the top soccer players in the state.
At the end of her sophomore year of high school, Hall will embark on a journey that few American high school athletes get to enjoy. Jackie, along with other area soccer players, travel to Europe and play various teams in a number of countries over a two-week span.
“This is my first time traveling overseas,” said Hall. “I’m very excited about the opportunity.”
The team will touch down in London and play some matches before flying to Rome, then Florence and then to Tuscany. During the $4,000, all-inclusive trip, the American girls get a chance to play against girls from Britain, France, Italy, Germany and other countries in Europe.
“They also have a number of cultural events planned, like going to museums and visiting tourist attractions,” stated McGrath. “We are doing some coin drops and will raffle off a weekend at Jiminy Peak (to raise funds for the trip).”
Not only does Hall have an opportunity in athletics that many will never get, but she also has an opportunity in the classroom which many students never receive. Hall takes classes at Tech Valley High, located at SUNY Albany, as part of a program associated with Hudson High School.
“It’s a really hands-on school. We do mostly everything with computers,” noted Hall, who would like to be an athletic trainer after college.
Tech Valley takes in students from 39 school districts across seven Capital Region and Hudson Valley counties, and focuses on teaching team work, individual responsibility, communication, problem solving and initiative.
“The kids at the school were instrumental in the designing of Guitar Hero a couple years ago,” stated McGrath.
Although there are less available slots in college for a goalie than a striker, both McGrath and Watt are certain that there will be an open position for Hall when the time comes for her to pick a school.
“If you’re good enough, there will always be a spot on the roster for you,” stated Watt. “Right now we’re focused on the upcoming tournaments and next year the college process will start.”
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