East Jessamine's Jacob Riekert signed a national letter of intent to play soccer at St. Catharine last week. (Photo by Jonathan Kleppinger / February 17, 2012) |
East Jessamine’s Jacob Riekert went to the next level last week, signing a national letter of intent to play soccer at Saint Catharine College in Bardstown.
“I just really like the college and the people on the team,” Riekert said. “I thought it was a really good fit for me compared to other colleges I looked at; the program’s going somewhere good.”
Saint Catharine men’s soccer coach Tim Wolz said he was impressed with the midfielder’s discipline.
“He’s got good size; he’s got good strength; he knows the game,” Wolz said. “When he came down and played with us when I was instructing him, he took my instructions and put them into play ... he actually adjusted his game while he was out there playing.”
Brock Sutherland, who coaches at West Jessamine but has been an individual trainer and club coach for Riekert, said the senior is ready to play at the next level.
“He’s real smart when he has the ball,” Sutherland said. “He plays really simple with short passes, plays to his abilities. He’s really physical, really strong with good size to him; he’d be perfect for college.”
The NAIA team is coming off a 5-14-2 record and is in the tough Mid-South Conference. Wolz said Riekert would be a key part of filling in the gaps in the next couple years.
“We need some youth; we need some enthusiasm, and we really need depth in the inside midfield position,” Wolz said. “The guys I have there now are getting ready to graduate in the next year or two; it will give him a year to get used to the system.”
Riekert was part of an East Jessamine boys’ team that went 6-13-1 last year and advanced to the 27th District semifinals before losing to Dunbar.
