Don’t Act Your Age

As Jamela Turin prepares for her first high school varsity game, she remembers her parents’ advice: “Don’t act younger than everyone. You can’t play like everyone’s older than you… act like you belong there.” Her parents told her this when she was notified that she, as a freshman, made Sandy High School’s girls varsity soccer team. She wasn’t just excited because she was a freshman on varsity – she was excited for her whole team’s potential to succeed. 

After several strenuous days of tryouts, Turin was informed of her success on the last day. “I wasn’t expecting it, but that’s definitely what I was hoping for. So I was really glad!” Turin said. She quickly started to notice differences between high school soccer and club soccer. 

Turin has been playing soccer since she was in third grade; she has played competitively on the Eastside Girls 2011 team since fifth grade, but says that high school soccer is very different from club soccer. “On my club team all the girls were the same age… but now I’m playing with girls almost five years older than me,” she said. She was born in July, so “even the girl closest to me in age is almost a year older than me.” 

Turin adds that “we do a lot more fitness in high school than in club because in club most girls are already at that level.” However, she doesn’t mind the extra exercise, as it’s a chance to enhance her speed and strength, which can only benefit her team. “You could play super well, but if you can’t play well the whole game, you’ll be scored on towards the end,” Turin 

says. 

Turin plays as a forward for Sandy High School’s team and plays striker and forward for club soccer. She used to play on the wing, but “for club, we already have some good wingers. So, striker’s my main position,” she said. 

Turin always prays before a game: “Sometimes we do a team prayer too, but I’ll pray by myself before kickoff.” She made an impact in her first game on Sept. 4 against Hood River, scoring one goal and two assists. The Sandy team won 4 to 1. Turin then scored a hat trick in the next game against Woodburn. They also won that game 4 to 1. 

Despite her excellent game play, Turin views teamwork as one of the most important aspects of her sport. “If you can’t connect with your teammates, then there’s not really a point,” she says. She is motivated by the idea of her team’s success. “Obviously I want to score because my position’s job is to score,” she says. But she goes on to say that she “can’t take all the glory,” when it’s her teammates that make scoring possible. After the first four games of the season, the high school team is ranked fourth in the OSAA 6A division, so success is on the horizon for her team.