Chuck Sekyra had a hunch. A simple gut feeling when it came to recruiting former Kentwood High soccer standout Kelsey Jenkins.<\/p>\n
During a time when most colleges steered clear of Jenkins due to a litany of injuries that befell her during a tumultuous junior season, the Seattle Pacific University coach stood firm.<\/p>\n
There was just something about this Kentwood kid.<\/p>\n
Desire. Athletic ability. Leadership \u2014 to name a few.<\/p>\n
But potentially more than all of that, Sekyra saw intangibles in Jenkins. Aspects of her game that don\u2019t necessarily translate in the box score no matter how many hours one spends crunching numbers.<\/p>\n
\u201cI saw her potential,\u201d said Sekyra, a Kent native and former soccer star himself at Kentwood High. \u201cI\u2019d seen her play when she was healthy during her sophomore year and was like, \u2018Wow, this kid plays at a great level of play.\u2019 Knowing her dad, knowing her family, she was one to believe in. You wanted to root for KJ.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought it was worth the risk.\u201d<\/p>\n
A calculated one at that.<\/p>\n
But few \u201crisks\u201d pay off quite like the one Sekyra made three years ago, when, while Jenkins was saddled on the Kentwood sidelines with two separate injuries, he offered up a scholarship.<\/p>\n
And this wasn\u2019t just a scholarship to some run-of-the-mill Division II program, either. Since Sekyra took over the Seattle Pacific coaching helm in 2003, the Falcons have vaulted into elite national status and have become the Northwest\u2019s unheralded crown jewel of women\u2019s soccer.<\/p>\n
Programs like this simply don\u2019t crawl out on a limb and offer scholarships to any player, especially if she has missed an entire high school season because of injury.<\/p>\n
But Jenkins was far from any ordinary player.<\/p>\n
Finally healthy, she showed as much as a true freshman this past fall, helping the Falcons secure their first Division II title on Dec. 6 with a 1-0 victory against previously unbeaten West Florida.<\/p>\n
The title keyed a torrent of emotions in Jenkins, most notably a feeling that after a long, bumpy ride through her final two years at Kentwood, she had made the right college decision.<\/p>\n
\u201cI couldn\u2019t be happier with my choice,\u201d said Jenkins, a midfielder. \u201cOnce you win that national title, it seals the deal that this was definitely the right choice, the right program.\u201d<\/p>\n
Indeed, much thanks to a coach who never stopped believing.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
THE BIG PICTURE<\/p>\n
But to understand Sekyra\u2019s level of belief in Jenkins, whose father Tom played for the Seattle Sounders in the late 1970s, it\u2019s impossible not to look first at what she had gone through.<\/p>\n
At the end of her sophomore year in high school and heading into her junior season of prep soccer, Jenkins suffered a pair of injuries: a broken foot and a fractured pelvis. Both were misdiagnosed by doctors, costing the Kentwood standout her entire junior season, which, for prep athletes, is the biggest of the four years.<\/p>\n
Sekyra didn\u2019t budge.<\/p>\n
He had seen Jenkins play at full strength with her club team, knew her capabilities and wasn\u2019t about to lose out on a promising deal.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe stayed in contact with me the entire time,\u201d Jenkins said. \u201cHe was really positive and told me, \u2018You\u2019ll get back out there. You\u2019ll be able to play.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
The coach clearly was drawn to the former Kentwood standout. Part of it, of course, was due to Jenkins\u2019 upbeat, never-back-down attitude in the face of adversity.<\/p>\n
But there was also that hunch, which just might have had something to do with the fact that Jenkins and Sekyra attended the same elementary school, middle school and high school \u2014 albeit many years apart.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe joked about that a lot,\u201d Jenkins said. \u201cWe\u2019re basically living the same life.\u201d<\/p>\n
Especially now that Jenkins is a full-fledged Falcon.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
INSTANT IMPACT<\/p>\n
Jenkins has gone to great lengths to make sure Sekyra\u2019s hunch is paying dividends. Matter of fact, this past fall, Jenkins was just one of three freshmen to see any playing time at all. She logged 10 minutes in the championship game and was one of only two freshmen to step onto the field.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo say I not only was part of that national championship, but that I actually got onto the field in the game is something,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The year proved to be a paramount success for Jenkins and the Falcons. They put together a remarkable 22-1-2 record and finished the season on a 17-game winning streak, a run during which they outscored opponents, 52-6.<\/p>\n
Jenkins made her presence felt throughout as well, starting in eight games when senior Shannon Oakes went down with a knee injury. In all, she finished the season with two goals, four assists and eight points.<\/p>\n
Despite the team\u2019s success this year \u2014 and, quite frankly, since Sekyra took over \u2014 winning a national title still remains a slight surprise.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt definitely caught me off guard,\u201d Jenkins admitted. \u201cObviously playing collegiate athletics, you hope for the best. We had talked about (winning it) weekly, even daily. In the back of our minds, that was the goal.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut in comparison, we know that that\u2019s the goal of everyone across the country.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
PLAY IT AGAIN?<\/p>\n
Now, it\u2019s a matter of repeating. But for a program that\u2019s become known more for reloading than rebuilding \u2014 and which had eight freshmen on its 24-player roster \u2014 there\u2019s a distinct possibility that Jenkins and the Falcons could make another run next fall.<\/p>\n
\u201cDefinitely it\u2019s a possibility,\u201d Jenkins said. \u201cWe definitely can. We\u2019re only losing five seniors. I feel like we\u2019re going to have a healthier team and we\u2019ll still be young.\u201d<\/p>\n
Regardless of what happens next year, Jenkins always will know that she has a coach in her corner. One who sees possibilities that go beyond this past fall.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe saw her get close to her potential this year,\u201d Sekyra said. \u201cShe\u2019s going to have a great spring and fall.\u201d<\/p>\n
Consider it a hunch.<\/p>\n
And a pretty safe one at that.<\/p>\n
E-mail staff writer Erick Walker at ewalker@reporternewspapers.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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