Soccer has been one of the few constants in Jackson Grubbs’ life.
The Andrean junior defender has attended multiple schools in multiple states and played multiple sports, but soccer has always stood out.
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“It was the only sport I played that felt like a team sport,” Grubbs said. “In the other sports, I felt like I had to do a lot of it by myself. But in soccer there were other people there to help me.”
Born in Minnesota, Grubbs has lived in Kansas, Illinois, Kentucky and most recently in Texas before her family moved to Indiana this summer. She’s back with a high school team after spending the previous school year playing club soccer.
She handles the sweeper role for 2021 Class 1A state runner-up Andrean (5-1-2), making her the last line of defense in front of sophomore goalkeeper Kate Wantuch. It’s a challenging position for any player, let alone one acclimating to a new team at a new school.
But Grubbs relished the opportunity.
“I was flattered when they put me back there,” she said. “I was so ready to show I could handle that pressure, and I’m going to keep working to make sure they know it’s something I can handle.”
Grubbs’ introduction to Andrean’s program came during a three-day camp at Valparaiso University over the summer. It was during that crash course when Grubbs first took on the challenge of playing sweeper, and coach Jeff Clapman quickly decided Grubbs’ skill set made her a perfect fit in that role.
“Her soccer IQ is very high, and she has the physical attributes to play a large area on the field, and it’s an important area, right in front of our goalkeeper,” Clapman said. “She’s fit in really well and is a strong player right in the middle for us.”
With Grubbs as a central part of the defense, Andrean hadn’t allowed more than one goal in any game and had held four opponents scoreless through Monday. She also had scored a goal and converted a penalty kick during Andrean’s shootout win against Highland on Aug. 31.
Grubbs said she still keeps in touch with her friends from Texas and is formulating spring break plans to head back there for a visit. She also is working her way into a groove at Andrean.
“It was really weird, trying to mix with everybody here, but I feel like I’m handling it pretty well,” she said. “Everyone in this class has been so welcoming. They’ve been eager to help me fit in. I’m really liking it up here.”
From Clapman’s perspective, that transition has been seamless.
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“She fit into our team dynamic and culture really quickly,” he said. “She’d had no experience with how our staff coaches or what it’s like to be a student at Andrean, but she just handled it all so beautifully. That initial adjustment period went by quickly, and we realized this is going to be a great fit for her and for us.”
Grubbs is pursuing interests outside of soccer, as well. She played bassoon for five years in Texas and hopes to find a similar opportunity here while also getting involved in theater.
On the field, she’ll be diving deeper into the sport that has become one of her passions since she started playing high-level club soccer in middle school.
“I started to realize that I could do a lot with soccer, that if I was able to do all of that while I was that young, I can take this thing pretty far,” she said.
Dave Melton is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.