thedrifter
08-24-05, 08:16 AM
Hard-corps decision
Marines, not football, may be in Sonneborn’s future
By ROBERT BURNS
STAFF WRITER
Published Wednesday, August 24, 2005
CHATHAM - Jake Sonneborn seems to have his future figured out, and he knows how he wants to handle it.
As a standout 6-foot-3, 205-pound defensive lineman on the Chatham Glenwood High School football team, his talent has attracted interest from colleges. As one of just 10 seniors on the Titans' roster - too few for coach Dan Rourke's liking - Sonneborn has inherited the role of senior leader almost by default.
He has come a long way from his first varsity assignment two years ago at Canton, when he admittedly was overwhelmed.
"I have more experience," he said. "My sophomore year I just kind of got pushed into it. Last year I got better. I know the game better.
"My sophomore year was a little rough. Now I have to mentor the other kids, help them out if they have questions, and keep everybody up."
Sonneborn finished the 2004 season with 123 tackles, including 69 solos, placing him fifth in the Central State Eight Conference. Glenwood's defense surrendered an average of a little more than 18 points per game, including one shutout. There were two games in which Glenwood held the opposition to one touchdown.
The Titans went 9-3 overall, losing to Bloomington 21-12 in the quarterfinal round of the Class 6A playoffs.
This season will be one of transition in several ways for Sonneborn, who anticipates equaling or bettering his junior-year effort. He then faces a life-choice fork in the road of his own creation after graduation.
While most of the league's top-level senior players are thinking of little else but continuing their football careers in college, Sonneborn is seriously considering the military, specifically the Marines. In the current world climate, he understands the consequences.
"I'm pretty headstrong about going into the Marines,'' he said. "It's something I've always wanted to do. Football is up there, but I think I have more of a future in the military than I do with football."
Sonneborn said his interest in the military began with his grandfather, who fought in World War II. He also has an uncle who served in Desert Storm.
Carrying a 3.8 grade-point average with an ACT score of 29, Sonneborn is intelligent enough to know that exercising the military option is a road that many his age are quick to avoid.
"It's something that I want to do,'' he said. "I understand the risks. And I've thought about college, then going into the service; I have not limited myself to one thing, but it is definitely something that I want to do."
Rourke said Sonneborn already has put himself ahead of the curve with his success in the classroom, virtually assuring himself success in college with or without football.
"He does the job in the classroom,'' Rourke said. "That will be the key. He is not crazy about the training rituals of football, but once it's two-a-days, he's ready to go.
"He's in high school and understands what it's all about. When you come out of Glenwood High School with a 3.8 GPA and a 29 ACT, you've got some tools."
Rourke describes Sonneborn as athletic and fast and says Sonneborn tends to be a player of the moment.
"His strength is that he's such an athletic kid (but) he's kind of an enigma," he said. "He doesn't come much to the weight room, but I think he's the kind of player when the lights turn on, he's going to go after it."
Sonneborn became that kind of player through a familiar start in Chatham, playing in the Chatham Community Football League while supplementing his athleticism as a standout youth soccer player. Then came the first life-altering decision, albeit much less important than the one in his future, when he decided that football had more of an allure for him than soccer.
He brought his best asset - kicking - to football, making a personal-best 42-yard field goal against Sacred Heart-Griffin last season. It was one of the few Glenwood bright spots in the Cyclones' 55-15 win.
He good-naturedly said he enjoys debunking the image of place-kickers as being 5 feet tall and 130 pounds after a big meal.
"Soccer was always my favorite,'' he said. "Then football came around and the seasons conflicted, so I decided on football. Kicking and playing defense, it's not that hard."
What was the biggest factor in choosing football?
"I like to hit," he said.
College recruiting Web sites have tight end Kevin Daley as a Division I prospect while Sonneborn is listed among the "tweeners," athletic enough to be a high school standout but something of an uncertainty on the college level.
Sonneborn sees that doubt as an opportunity.
"If things go well this season, I could well play football in college," he said. "We have to win and I just have to play and depend on my teammates. But it's not about me; it's about the team. We don't want to go 5-4. We expect to make the playoffs."
Robert Burns can be reached at 788-1546 or robert.burns@sj-r.com.
Ellie
Marines, not football, may be in Sonneborn’s future
By ROBERT BURNS
STAFF WRITER
Published Wednesday, August 24, 2005
CHATHAM - Jake Sonneborn seems to have his future figured out, and he knows how he wants to handle it.
As a standout 6-foot-3, 205-pound defensive lineman on the Chatham Glenwood High School football team, his talent has attracted interest from colleges. As one of just 10 seniors on the Titans' roster - too few for coach Dan Rourke's liking - Sonneborn has inherited the role of senior leader almost by default.
He has come a long way from his first varsity assignment two years ago at Canton, when he admittedly was overwhelmed.
"I have more experience," he said. "My sophomore year I just kind of got pushed into it. Last year I got better. I know the game better.
"My sophomore year was a little rough. Now I have to mentor the other kids, help them out if they have questions, and keep everybody up."
Sonneborn finished the 2004 season with 123 tackles, including 69 solos, placing him fifth in the Central State Eight Conference. Glenwood's defense surrendered an average of a little more than 18 points per game, including one shutout. There were two games in which Glenwood held the opposition to one touchdown.
The Titans went 9-3 overall, losing to Bloomington 21-12 in the quarterfinal round of the Class 6A playoffs.
This season will be one of transition in several ways for Sonneborn, who anticipates equaling or bettering his junior-year effort. He then faces a life-choice fork in the road of his own creation after graduation.
While most of the league's top-level senior players are thinking of little else but continuing their football careers in college, Sonneborn is seriously considering the military, specifically the Marines. In the current world climate, he understands the consequences.
"I'm pretty headstrong about going into the Marines,'' he said. "It's something I've always wanted to do. Football is up there, but I think I have more of a future in the military than I do with football."
Sonneborn said his interest in the military began with his grandfather, who fought in World War II. He also has an uncle who served in Desert Storm.
Carrying a 3.8 grade-point average with an ACT score of 29, Sonneborn is intelligent enough to know that exercising the military option is a road that many his age are quick to avoid.
"It's something that I want to do,'' he said. "I understand the risks. And I've thought about college, then going into the service; I have not limited myself to one thing, but it is definitely something that I want to do."
Rourke said Sonneborn already has put himself ahead of the curve with his success in the classroom, virtually assuring himself success in college with or without football.
"He does the job in the classroom,'' Rourke said. "That will be the key. He is not crazy about the training rituals of football, but once it's two-a-days, he's ready to go.
"He's in high school and understands what it's all about. When you come out of Glenwood High School with a 3.8 GPA and a 29 ACT, you've got some tools."
Rourke describes Sonneborn as athletic and fast and says Sonneborn tends to be a player of the moment.
"His strength is that he's such an athletic kid (but) he's kind of an enigma," he said. "He doesn't come much to the weight room, but I think he's the kind of player when the lights turn on, he's going to go after it."
Sonneborn became that kind of player through a familiar start in Chatham, playing in the Chatham Community Football League while supplementing his athleticism as a standout youth soccer player. Then came the first life-altering decision, albeit much less important than the one in his future, when he decided that football had more of an allure for him than soccer.
He brought his best asset - kicking - to football, making a personal-best 42-yard field goal against Sacred Heart-Griffin last season. It was one of the few Glenwood bright spots in the Cyclones' 55-15 win.
He good-naturedly said he enjoys debunking the image of place-kickers as being 5 feet tall and 130 pounds after a big meal.
"Soccer was always my favorite,'' he said. "Then football came around and the seasons conflicted, so I decided on football. Kicking and playing defense, it's not that hard."
What was the biggest factor in choosing football?
"I like to hit," he said.
College recruiting Web sites have tight end Kevin Daley as a Division I prospect while Sonneborn is listed among the "tweeners," athletic enough to be a high school standout but something of an uncertainty on the college level.
Sonneborn sees that doubt as an opportunity.
"If things go well this season, I could well play football in college," he said. "We have to win and I just have to play and depend on my teammates. But it's not about me; it's about the team. We don't want to go 5-4. We expect to make the playoffs."
Robert Burns can be reached at 788-1546 or robert.burns@sj-r.com.
Ellie