By Rubin E. Grant
Even though he was part of two state championship teams as a player, Homewood soccer coach Julian Kersh wouldn’t put himself in the same class with current Patriots senior Will Jackson (pictured).
“I wish I was half the player Will J is,” said Kersh, who played on Homewood’s 2005 and 2006 boys title teams. “He’s got a talent level that you only expect to see come through a program a couple of times. Everything seems to come so naturally to him. He can do incredible things with the ball.
“This season he’s been more a midfielder, so he’s not scoring as many goals, but that doesn’t mean he’s having less of an impact.”
Jackson was extremely impactful in Homewood’s first-round Class 6A playoff game last Friday. He scored three goals for his first hat-trick of the season and had an assist as the Patriots routed Pell City 10-0.
Homewood (18-2-3) was scheduled to meet Mountain Brook (21-4-1) in the second round on Tuesday night.
Jackson led the Patriots in goals as a sophomore and junior. This spring he has scored 20 goals and has 12 assists.
Jackson began playing soccer shortly after learning how to walk. His father, Todd Jackson, introduced him to the sport. Todd Jackson played in college at Furman University, but Will Jackson said his father didn’t force him to become a soccer player.
“I played a couple of different sports,” he said. “I played basketball for five or six years, but I fell in love with soccer in my own way.
“What I love about it is it is one of the only sports where you get to use just your feet all the time. I also feel like soccer is an art, an expression of being yourself on the field.”
Jackson’s dad did help him develop as a player.
“My dad just being with me mentally, and also technically, just playing soccer, just comforting me and just being a dad has been really helpful,” he said.
This is Jackson’s third year on the Patriots’ varsity. He didn’t play on the 2021 state championship team his freshman year because he was playing in the MLS Next youth soccer program in Nashville.
“They offered me a chance to play up there for about a year,” Jackson said.
Homewood has benefitted from the experience he gained playing in the MLS Next program.
“It was the hunger and energy he brought once he came out,” Kersh said. “He has worked so hard to get to the level he’s at. Talent can take you only so far. You have to have that drive and determination. That’s why he’s had the success he’s had.”
Jackson has aspirations of playing professionally.
“That would be great,” he said. “I’m just going to see where soccer takes me.”
Jackson is headed to Wake Forest to play in college, choosing the Demon Deacons over North Carolina. He’s the first player from the Homewood boys program to sign with an Atlantic Coast Conference school. He picked Wake Forest after visiting the campus.
“The community up there is great, it has a beautiful campus and the soccer team has a very welcoming culture, which I like, and you can talk to the coaches,” he said.
As his high school career began winding down, Jackson became more reflective.
“It’s been an amazing journey,” he said. “I hate that I have to leave high school. I appreciate the Homewood community and Homewood High School.”
The day after the Patriots’ first-round playoff victory against Pell City, Jackson said he hoped to leave as a state champion.
“I think if we’re at our best, we can beat anybody,” he said. “But everyone on the team has to step up and we need to be on the same page with the same priorities to play at our best.”
