Kamba finds serendipity at Jones
By Patrick Z. McGavin
A little over four years ago Isabelle Kamba took the trek to the South Loop for a special open house at Jones to determine the next part of her young life.
A top student and a soccer player with a strong club background, Kamba was in search of opportunities and figuring out the most viable means of linking the two.
“Coming in as a freshman, I did not really know anything about the Jones team,” Kamba said. “I had not done any research. I knew I wanted to go to school there, and I knew I wanted to play soccer.
“I had not really made the connection yet.”
As an academically rigorous school, Kamba already proved something special, gaining admission to a school that only accepts about one student for every 400 applicants.
Her quest to learn more about the soccer team marked its own kind of quest.
“I went to the open house when I was first checking the school, and I tried to ask around about the soccer team, and I could not really find anyone,” she said.
Kamba found a teacher and made her own inquiries.
“Do you even have a soccer team?”
“Yes, of course,” the teacher replied.
Kamba was sold.
“Having a team that was really welcoming and having a good team on top of that was really amazing,” Kamba said.
Her trajectory at Jones was a marvelous one. Kamba started at left back as a freshman and was a vital part of a team that reached the city title game against Lane in 2017.
That remains the only team in program history to play for a city title.
“It really meant everything to me,” she said. “As a freshman coming in, you never really know what the experience is going to be like. Being on a team that got to the city final my first year was not only really inspiring to me as a player, but as a Jones player specifically.
“It put a type of expectation inside my head. I thought, this is what we did my freshman year. I naturally thought about what we could do next year or the year after that. How can we keep getting better and better as a team?”
In revisiting that part of her life, Kamba i\was jolted by the feeling of a young player eager to find her function in the larger firmament.
“I think freshman year I came in very timid, just trying to understand my place on the team,” she said.
Jones coach Derek Bylsma liked to play just three in the back. He had the fortune of a dynamic keeper in four-year starter Devin Barry, who was named Chicagoland Soccer All-State last year.
Natalie Loos, a senior midfielder, also dropped back depending on the game circumstances and the particular flow.
Kamba was always intelligent, a savvy and intuitive player who mapped out in her mind a typical sequence and sought her own angles of attack, or more accurately in her position, disruption.
She had thrilling powers of imagination and anticipation.
“I am more of an analytical player, if that makes sense,” Kamba said. “I don’t rely as much on technical skills. I try to think ahead and figure out what position I need to be in three seconds from now, and how I can get there.
“That is what I have always enjoyed about game situations, where there is a lot of pressure, especially as a defender, to be in the right place at the right time. As I got older, being able to be there was really satisfying for me as a player.”
Her value is expressed in multiple forms, an innate ability to help guide and shape the back. Jones posted a program-record 14 shutouts last year.
Kamba was a central part of the equation.
“She is a very tough and smart player,” Bylsma said. “Izzy has been a huge part of our program all four years she has been here. She has grown into an excellent defensive player who has the ability to be dangerous moving forward.
“Beyond that, she has continuously shown up with a great attitude and developed into an excellent leader.”
She started playing in organized play at the age of five in Chicago-based AYSO. Her brother, who is three years older, was an early inspiration and catalyst.
“I don’t know if it was more my choice or my parents, but I think definitely seeing him enjoy the sport made me want to also try out,” Kamba said.
“It ended up sticking.”
She found her voice early. A significant part of that was her very assured sense of who and what she was as a player. Every position reverberates its own rhythm and course of action.
Kamba always knew her strengths.
“I think it started when I was really young, and I wanted to have trust in myself and know that being the last line of defense—other than the goalie—and knowing that I did everything I could to stop the other team from scoring,” she said.
“I had never been very offensive minded, so defense was a natural calling for me, knowing I was still making an impact on the game, even if I wasn’t scoring.”
As a disruptor, Kamba played aggressively and physically, knowing the rules and the nature of play permitted that open-ended style and freedom.
“You get away with things more often than an attacker doesn’t,” she said.
What was supposed to be a summation of her soccer career instead became a lament for a season thwarted by the novel coronavirus.
The lost season was especially heartbreaking for the Eagles. Barry graduated, but the balance of the back and many key offensive personnel returned.
This was to be a glory year. Bylsma felt without reservation this year’s group was bound to be the best team he ever coached.
Instead it became a year marked by sorrow that evolved into a natural sense of reflection. Kamba had emerged as a natural leader.
“I loved being on her team for the past four years,” defender Catherine Lorden said. “Izzy is one of the most aggressive and quickest players I have ever played with.
“You can count on her in practically any situation.”
Jones was always a coveted school, Kamba said, as a springboard to ever greater opportunities. She was a key part in a program that matured into one of the top three in the city with Lane and Young.
“If you have commitment to academics, it is likely you are also willing and able to commit to something as tough as soccer. So, I think there is definitely a correlation.” she said.
If school and soccer are part of the same continuum, Kamba discovered the ideal path forward. The two formed a dialogue that beautifully overlapped.
“I think for me the most important part was seeing the training really pay off,” Kamba said. “When you practice it’s a different mentality. You get to the game, and it is exhilarating.
“It cleared my mind of everything else that was going on. I was able to focus on soccer, focus on my team and myself and put 100 percent effort into something. Being able to do that a majority of my life has meant a lot.”
Everything coalesced. As difficult as it was to process the end of a career cut short, Kamba is moving on. She is preparing for her freshman year at the University of Minnesota.
“I think if you go to an academically challenging school, you have a certain level of commitment in your life to academics,” Kamba said.
By Patrick Z. McGavin
A little over four years ago Isabelle Kamba took the trek to the South Loop for a special open house at Jones to determine the next part of her young life.
A top student and a soccer player with a strong club background, Kamba was in search of opportunities and figuring out the most viable means of linking the two.
“Coming in as a freshman, I did not really know anything about the Jones team,” Kamba said. “I had not done any research. I knew I wanted to go to school there, and I knew I wanted to play soccer.
“I had not really made the connection yet.”
As an academically rigorous school, Kamba already proved something special, gaining admission to a school that only accepts about one student for every 400 applicants.
Her quest to learn more about the soccer team marked its own kind of quest.
“I went to the open house when I was first checking the school, and I tried to ask around about the soccer team, and I could not really find anyone,” she said.
Kamba found a teacher and made her own inquiries.
“Do you even have a soccer team?”
“Yes, of course,” the teacher replied.
Kamba was sold.
“Having a team that was really welcoming and having a good team on top of that was really amazing,” Kamba said.
Her trajectory at Jones was a marvelous one. Kamba started at left back as a freshman and was a vital part of a team that reached the city title game against Lane in 2017.
That remains the only team in program history to play for a city title.
“It really meant everything to me,” she said. “As a freshman coming in, you never really know what the experience is going to be like. Being on a team that got to the city final my first year was not only really inspiring to me as a player, but as a Jones player specifically.
“It put a type of expectation inside my head. I thought, this is what we did my freshman year. I naturally thought about what we could do next year or the year after that. How can we keep getting better and better as a team?”
In revisiting that part of her life, Kamba i\was jolted by the feeling of a young player eager to find her function in the larger firmament.
“I think freshman year I came in very timid, just trying to understand my place on the team,” she said.
Jones coach Derek Bylsma liked to play just three in the back. He had the fortune of a dynamic keeper in four-year starter Devin Barry, who was named Chicagoland Soccer All-State last year.
Natalie Loos, a senior midfielder, also dropped back depending on the game circumstances and the particular flow.
Kamba was always intelligent, a savvy and intuitive player who mapped out in her mind a typical sequence and sought her own angles of attack, or more accurately in her position, disruption.
She had thrilling powers of imagination and anticipation.
“I am more of an analytical player, if that makes sense,” Kamba said. “I don’t rely as much on technical skills. I try to think ahead and figure out what position I need to be in three seconds from now, and how I can get there.
“That is what I have always enjoyed about game situations, where there is a lot of pressure, especially as a defender, to be in the right place at the right time. As I got older, being able to be there was really satisfying for me as a player.”
Her value is expressed in multiple forms, an innate ability to help guide and shape the back. Jones posted a program-record 14 shutouts last year.
Kamba was a central part of the equation.
“She is a very tough and smart player,” Bylsma said. “Izzy has been a huge part of our program all four years she has been here. She has grown into an excellent defensive player who has the ability to be dangerous moving forward.
“Beyond that, she has continuously shown up with a great attitude and developed into an excellent leader.”
She started playing in organized play at the age of five in Chicago-based AYSO. Her brother, who is three years older, was an early inspiration and catalyst.
“I don’t know if it was more my choice or my parents, but I think definitely seeing him enjoy the sport made me want to also try out,” Kamba said.
“It ended up sticking.”
She found her voice early. A significant part of that was her very assured sense of who and what she was as a player. Every position reverberates its own rhythm and course of action.
Kamba always knew her strengths.
“I think it started when I was really young, and I wanted to have trust in myself and know that being the last line of defense—other than the goalie—and knowing that I did everything I could to stop the other team from scoring,” she said.
“I had never been very offensive minded, so defense was a natural calling for me, knowing I was still making an impact on the game, even if I wasn’t scoring.”
As a disruptor, Kamba played aggressively and physically, knowing the rules and the nature of play permitted that open-ended style and freedom.
“You get away with things more often than an attacker doesn’t,” she said.
What was supposed to be a summation of her soccer career instead became a lament for a season thwarted by the novel coronavirus.
The lost season was especially heartbreaking for the Eagles. Barry graduated, but the balance of the back and many key offensive personnel returned.
This was to be a glory year. Bylsma felt without reservation this year’s group was bound to be the best team he ever coached.
Instead it became a year marked by sorrow that evolved into a natural sense of reflection. Kamba had emerged as a natural leader.
“I loved being on her team for the past four years,” defender Catherine Lorden said. “Izzy is one of the most aggressive and quickest players I have ever played with.
“You can count on her in practically any situation.”
Jones was always a coveted school, Kamba said, as a springboard to ever greater opportunities. She was a key part in a program that matured into one of the top three in the city with Lane and Young.
“If you have commitment to academics, it is likely you are also willing and able to commit to something as tough as soccer. So, I think there is definitely a correlation.” she said.
If school and soccer are part of the same continuum, Kamba discovered the ideal path forward. The two formed a dialogue that beautifully overlapped.
“I think for me the most important part was seeing the training really pay off,” Kamba said. “When you practice it’s a different mentality. You get to the game, and it is exhilarating.
“It cleared my mind of everything else that was going on. I was able to focus on soccer, focus on my team and myself and put 100 percent effort into something. Being able to do that a majority of my life has meant a lot.”
Everything coalesced. As difficult as it was to process the end of a career cut short, Kamba is moving on. She is preparing for her freshman year at the University of Minnesota.
“I think if you go to an academically challenging school, you have a certain level of commitment in your life to academics,” Kamba said.