At the 20th minute mark of the first half during a match against Caledonia, Sr. forward Jameshon Bader lifted his left leg up to intercept a pass from a Caledonia defender. A moment later, Bader brought the ball to the endline outside the box and proceeded to flip a gentle pass to a teammate. The play did not lead to a goal, but demonstrated Bader’s excellent footwork.
Bader has been playing soccer since kindergarten. People told him that he should play football, but his true love was always soccer. This passion is what kept Bader playing into his senior year.
But, Bader is not just any ordinary soccer player; it is his stature that makes him truly unique. He is listed as 6’7 and 240 lbs. The way he uses his size is unbelieveable.“If I didn’t use my size I definitely wouldn’t play at all because I’m not quick enough,” Bader said. This is because Bader believes his pace doesn’t match most other players.
Also, with Bader’s massive stature comes an element of intimidation.With Bader’s massive sature comes an element of intimidation. When entering the playing field, opponents have been known to look at him and say “HOLY **** THAT GUY IS HUGE”. Most of have never seen a soccer player of Bader’s stature.
Loose balls are no problem for Bader. He is able to effortlessly retrieve them, especially when opponents back down in fear of his size. But there are downfalls for Bader when it comes to stray balls. Often when he tries to steal the ball away from an opponent, players will flop. Bader will then get booked because of his size. On the other hand, when an opponent knocks down Bader, referees will allow play to continue because of Bader’s size. He is a big guy compared to other players; therefore, in the referee’s eyes the only way he would fall was if Bader flopped. “I can just like not even put my full body weight onto someone and knock them off the ball”. This occurred just last week to Bader in a match against Grandville.
For a soccer player like Bader, he has never played against an opponent his size. In fact, there hasn’t been a player even close to his size being 6’7 and 240 lbs. “The nearest people are probably like 3 or 4 inches away from my height,” Bader said.
The next time Bader and the varsity team are in action is Thursday, Sept. 29 at home against East Kentwood.