Most look at a soccer field and see a lot of green enclosed in a gigantic white rectangle.
Jordan King sees a massive jigsaw puzzle, one that is both challenging and fun to try to piece together.
Having the opportunity to go out there and attempt to solve that puzzle, while also leading her team to victory, is one of the reasons the Burlington Central junior cherishes the game of soccer.
“When you get into a sport and love it, you can’t do without it,” she said. “If I didn’t love the game so much and the challenging competition, I wouldn’t still be playing it.”
This spring, King, who has verbally committed to Miami of Ohio, has taken on a bit of a different role as both a leader and a playmaker.
“It’s like I’m laying down the puzzle pieces in front of me and there’s 11 of us out there trying to connect together, to figure out what works best,” she said.
“I love the options of the game. I can do multiple things. I can go left or right. I can go on the ground or in the air. You have to be quick in making decisions, and you have to plan ahead and communicate and hope that everything comes together.”
So far it’s come together nicely for King, a forward/midfielder, and the Rockets.
Two weekends ago, Burlington Central (5-1-1) won the Huntley Invitational, getting wins against the host Red Raiders, a Class 3A state qualifier last season, and Rockford Boylan, which beat the Rockets last April.
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“She’s been great, and she’s had a lot to do with our nice start,” Rockets coach Jessica Arneson said. “She’s my captain and does an excellent job of representing the team. This season she’s really stepped into a different role and done it gracefully. She’s already had a lot of success in that role.”
Arneson is blessed with a lot of scoring threats, so it wasn’t a difficult decision to ask King to take on more of a playmaking role. It certainly helps returning all the starters from a 17-7 team, including Elizabeth Gousios (30 goals, 14 assists), Sydney Pryor (18 goals, 11 assists) and Megan Majewski (15 goals, 14 assists).
“With so much talent this year, it was more of an issue of figuring out what was best for the team, so putting Jordan in the center of everything made a lot of sense,” Arneson said. “And Jordan’s helped me figure out where everyone belongs best. She’s very good at that and has just jumped on the opportunity.”
Last spring, King had 32 goals and 22 assists. Through six games this spring, she’s scored four goals with a pair of assists, as well as led a commitment to better possession and stingier defense.
“In the previous years we would rely so much on scoring and then focus on outscoring teams,” she said.
“I’m trying to be the playmaker and get the ball to people’s feet and create opportunities while at the same time making sure everyone is pressuring the ball and playing defense. We’ve had a good team effort so far. It’s been good.”
C.R. Walker is a freelance writer for The Courier-News.