BEAVERTON, Ore. — Jack Jewsbury is a Missouri kid. Even while making a career in the worldly sport of soccer, Jewsbury was always representing his home state.
Until the morning of March 1.
That’s when Jewsbury learned that, for the first time in his 29 years, he wasn’t going to be calling the Midwest home.
Instead, the Springfield, Mo., native will be in a leading role for the Portland Timbers when they make their Major League Soccer debut Saturday in Colorado.
“A whirlwind of emotions,” is the way Jewsbury described his reaction to being traded from Sporting Kansas City, where he spent his first eight professional seasons, to the Portland Timbers.
A box-to-box player — meaning he will be expected to create offense and to play defense — Jewsbury was acquired to give the young Timbers a veteran presence in the center of the field.
Within days of arriving in Portland, Jewsbury was handed the captain’s role for the Timbers’ inaugural MLS season.
“I knew that they wanted me here in a leadership role,” he said. “I embrace that. As soon as I got here, I wanted to make sure the guys knew that I had a voice.”
On the field, Jewsbury will be the voice of coach John Spencer, the player charged with making sure the Timbers are sticking with the game plan. Off the field, he will have the opportunity to be mentor.
Jewsbury turns 30 on April 13, the eve of the Timbers’ MLS home opener. He is the oldest field player on the roster.
In eight seasons with Kansas City, Jewsbury played both as an attacking midfielder and as a defender. With Portland, he will be counted on to direct the attack.
Peter Lowry, a fifth-year MLS player who likely will start alongside Jewsbury in Portland’s central midfield on Saturday, said his teammate is easy to pair with.
“He’s so knowledgeable about the work he does and how he plays,” Lowry said. “You want to be a player who makes other players around you better, and I think that’s Jack.”
Despite a fine career at St. Louis University, a professional career was not a given for Jewsbury. Then Kansas City coach Bob Gansler was tough on rookies.
“He was very tough on us. Either you excel in that (situation) or you fail, you go the other way and you’re done,” Jewsbury said. “It pushed me. I think I owe a lot to him for moulding me into the player that I am today.”
Jewsbury believes he would not be playing pro soccer today had he not embraced the idea that every day matters, whether a player is in the lineup or not.
“Some of the things that I voice to these guys is, it’s not about being good for just one day. It’s a matter of coming out and training every day, being good that day, and being consistent game in, game out.
“At the end of the day, it’s a results-oriented job. And if you’re not being consistent, you don’t find yourself on the field.”
Being on the field is a big reason Jewsbury welcomed the trade to Portland. He said he told Kansas City managment that he’d rather move on than not be in KC’s regular 11.
So a player whose name is sprinkled around Kansas City’s record book is looking forward to helping Portland write a memorable first chapter in MLS.
“It’s a great group of guys,” Jewsbury said of his new teammates. “I’m proud to be captain of the group and excited to get going.”
