Marshall helps create
winning atmosphere at Jones
By Patrick Z. McGavin
Personalities and styles always turn up in different ways. Some players are stealthy and surprising; almost glancing in motion and how they play until the different parts come together and the larger picture emerges.
Others are dynamic and revealing. Their abilities and command are sharp and impossible to ignore. Even off the ball they are dangerous.
Jones senior-to-be Carmen Marshall fits the latter mold of expression. As a forward at the city power, her speed, quickness and elusiveness in space commands attention.
“She was likely going to be our best player this year,” coach Derek Bylsma said.
She emerged as a sophomore last year as a star in the making. She earned recognition on the Chicagoland Soccer All-State Watch List.
In her first full year as a starter, she scored 14 goals and contributed 13 assists.
“I think she would have doubled those totals this year,” Bylsma said.
Interestingly Bylsma tried to keep her under wraps last year and fool teams. At the beginning of the year, he kept her off the field at the start of games.
“I wanted to be able to surprise teams a little bit and bring her in off the bench, because they would not be ready for her speed,” Bylsma said.
“She played her way into the starting lineup.”
Marshall dominated Northside with a goal and two assists in a 4-0 win March 27 last season and earned the Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match recognition. Bylsma knew at this point the word was out.
Timing is often the most telling variable of a player’s rise. Marshall arrived at Jones as the program was taking off. The Eagles made their first city title appearance when she was in eighth grade.
Everything converged.
“At that point, when I was in eighth grade, I looked at Jones mostly for academics and location,” she said. “I was not really thinking about the soccer program.
“I was more excited about going there.”
As a selective-enrollment magnet school, Jones is one of the most sought after schools in the city. The academics appeal to students like Marshall, who are filled with ambition and reach.
The athletic component was a beautiful byproduct.
“Once I got here as a freshman, I was so excited,” Marshall said. “Until that point I had really only played club soccer. I was not used to playing in a school environment.
“That was very motivating.”
As a freshman, Marshall separated herself and made an impression on the experienced players. Her natural abilities combined with her confidence made a statement.
“Carmen is an incredible player, and I have been able to see from the moment she got to Jones how impactful she has been,” graduated midfielder Natalie Loos said.
“Obviously the impact is seen by the large amount of goals and assists she had, but I feel that what made her such an important part of our team was her responsibility and her work ethic.
“We could always trust her to do what she needed to do up, keeping the ball or working creatively to move it up the field.”
Marshall also felt empowered by the early opportunities.
“It made me feel right away that I was a part of something,” she said. “I felt like everyone could play no matter what their grade or level.
“I knew I could make a contribution.”
Most impressive, her speed was just one facet of her quickly evolving game. It was not the sole point of her skill.
“I like playing a very possession-oriented game,” Marshall said. “I like the combination, the give-and-go. I like making runs and getting into space.
“I like taking people on in the final third.”
When she was younger, first getting accustomed to organized competition, Marshall played center back. The experience proved crucial to her growth and development.
She learned how to be comfortable playing different positions and experiment with different parts of the game—passing, moving off the ball, even how to shut down the other team’s opposing talent.
She is the oldest of her siblings, and Marshall said her mother encouraged her at an early age about getting involved with sports. At that point of her life, she was more eclectic than a specialist.
“I was always active but never invested in a single sport,” Marshall said. “I was always moving around, and I think that contributed to my athleticism and my skill.
“I never stuck to one thing.”
Eventually she settled on soccer. That sense of searching, the nature of the quest, took hold of her. Soccer fulfilled her need for a creative outlet.
The personal and the particular just fused together.
“I am a spontaneous person, and I think that shows up on the field,” Marshall said. “One of the things I love the most about soccer is that I am never entirely sure what I am going to do out there.
“Sometimes I will do something and try a new move on a defender, something I have never done before. I like the spontaneity and the unexpected.”
Bylsma regarded the 2020 team as the best in program history. The two weeks the team had in training before in-school classes were suspended were marked by promise and excitement.
The interim between a sophomore and junior year is often the telling sign. With her confidence flourishing and her comfort around the team locked in, Marshall was ready to make an even great leap.
“She has a great spirit, and she is constantly pushing herself as a player,” Loos said. “I think her drive and determination was something everybody looked up to.”
Jones (18-7-0 last year) had multiple returning starters from a team that finished third in the city tournament and reached a Class 3A regional final.
The Eagles finished no. 31 in the Chicagoland Soccer’s Final 50 statewide poll. Together with fellow Chicago Public League schools Lane and Young, the trio figured to make a statement, and not just at the top of the Premier Division.
“Emotionally it has been very difficult,” Marshall said. “I was really looking forward to this situation. I am really sad our seniors were not able to play.
“They have played here the longest, and I have built really strong bonds with them.”
She saw the same signs as her coach and the older players.
“Even though we didn’t have that many practices, we had really good attitudes about the season,” she said. “We were much more motivated than before.
“We wanted to show everybody in the city that we belong in the Premier. I think we would have gone very far.”
Like many of her peers, Marshall articulates a particular anguish of loss, an absence, of something that is not quite possible to replace.
Her future is more open-ended as she ponders the next stage of her life: what schools interest her; and whether she is going to play at the next level.
Unlike Loos and the rest of the Class of 2020, Marshall is buoyed by the realization that her high school career is not yet completely written.
That propels her forward.
“I do have a senior season,” Marshall said. “Right now my focus is just on improving so I can play well next season.”
winning atmosphere at Jones
By Patrick Z. McGavin
Personalities and styles always turn up in different ways. Some players are stealthy and surprising; almost glancing in motion and how they play until the different parts come together and the larger picture emerges.
Others are dynamic and revealing. Their abilities and command are sharp and impossible to ignore. Even off the ball they are dangerous.
Jones senior-to-be Carmen Marshall fits the latter mold of expression. As a forward at the city power, her speed, quickness and elusiveness in space commands attention.
“She was likely going to be our best player this year,” coach Derek Bylsma said.
She emerged as a sophomore last year as a star in the making. She earned recognition on the Chicagoland Soccer All-State Watch List.
In her first full year as a starter, she scored 14 goals and contributed 13 assists.
“I think she would have doubled those totals this year,” Bylsma said.
Interestingly Bylsma tried to keep her under wraps last year and fool teams. At the beginning of the year, he kept her off the field at the start of games.
“I wanted to be able to surprise teams a little bit and bring her in off the bench, because they would not be ready for her speed,” Bylsma said.
“She played her way into the starting lineup.”
Marshall dominated Northside with a goal and two assists in a 4-0 win March 27 last season and earned the Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match recognition. Bylsma knew at this point the word was out.
Timing is often the most telling variable of a player’s rise. Marshall arrived at Jones as the program was taking off. The Eagles made their first city title appearance when she was in eighth grade.
Everything converged.
“At that point, when I was in eighth grade, I looked at Jones mostly for academics and location,” she said. “I was not really thinking about the soccer program.
“I was more excited about going there.”
As a selective-enrollment magnet school, Jones is one of the most sought after schools in the city. The academics appeal to students like Marshall, who are filled with ambition and reach.
The athletic component was a beautiful byproduct.
“Once I got here as a freshman, I was so excited,” Marshall said. “Until that point I had really only played club soccer. I was not used to playing in a school environment.
“That was very motivating.”
As a freshman, Marshall separated herself and made an impression on the experienced players. Her natural abilities combined with her confidence made a statement.
“Carmen is an incredible player, and I have been able to see from the moment she got to Jones how impactful she has been,” graduated midfielder Natalie Loos said.
“Obviously the impact is seen by the large amount of goals and assists she had, but I feel that what made her such an important part of our team was her responsibility and her work ethic.
“We could always trust her to do what she needed to do up, keeping the ball or working creatively to move it up the field.”
Marshall also felt empowered by the early opportunities.
“It made me feel right away that I was a part of something,” she said. “I felt like everyone could play no matter what their grade or level.
“I knew I could make a contribution.”
Most impressive, her speed was just one facet of her quickly evolving game. It was not the sole point of her skill.
“I like playing a very possession-oriented game,” Marshall said. “I like the combination, the give-and-go. I like making runs and getting into space.
“I like taking people on in the final third.”
When she was younger, first getting accustomed to organized competition, Marshall played center back. The experience proved crucial to her growth and development.
She learned how to be comfortable playing different positions and experiment with different parts of the game—passing, moving off the ball, even how to shut down the other team’s opposing talent.
She is the oldest of her siblings, and Marshall said her mother encouraged her at an early age about getting involved with sports. At that point of her life, she was more eclectic than a specialist.
“I was always active but never invested in a single sport,” Marshall said. “I was always moving around, and I think that contributed to my athleticism and my skill.
“I never stuck to one thing.”
Eventually she settled on soccer. That sense of searching, the nature of the quest, took hold of her. Soccer fulfilled her need for a creative outlet.
The personal and the particular just fused together.
“I am a spontaneous person, and I think that shows up on the field,” Marshall said. “One of the things I love the most about soccer is that I am never entirely sure what I am going to do out there.
“Sometimes I will do something and try a new move on a defender, something I have never done before. I like the spontaneity and the unexpected.”
Bylsma regarded the 2020 team as the best in program history. The two weeks the team had in training before in-school classes were suspended were marked by promise and excitement.
The interim between a sophomore and junior year is often the telling sign. With her confidence flourishing and her comfort around the team locked in, Marshall was ready to make an even great leap.
“She has a great spirit, and she is constantly pushing herself as a player,” Loos said. “I think her drive and determination was something everybody looked up to.”
Jones (18-7-0 last year) had multiple returning starters from a team that finished third in the city tournament and reached a Class 3A regional final.
The Eagles finished no. 31 in the Chicagoland Soccer’s Final 50 statewide poll. Together with fellow Chicago Public League schools Lane and Young, the trio figured to make a statement, and not just at the top of the Premier Division.
“Emotionally it has been very difficult,” Marshall said. “I was really looking forward to this situation. I am really sad our seniors were not able to play.
“They have played here the longest, and I have built really strong bonds with them.”
She saw the same signs as her coach and the older players.
“Even though we didn’t have that many practices, we had really good attitudes about the season,” she said. “We were much more motivated than before.
“We wanted to show everybody in the city that we belong in the Premier. I think we would have gone very far.”
Like many of her peers, Marshall articulates a particular anguish of loss, an absence, of something that is not quite possible to replace.
Her future is more open-ended as she ponders the next stage of her life: what schools interest her; and whether she is going to play at the next level.
Unlike Loos and the rest of the Class of 2020, Marshall is buoyed by the realization that her high school career is not yet completely written.
That propels her forward.
“I do have a senior season,” Marshall said. “Right now my focus is just on improving so I can play well next season.”