Bell Blanks The Competition
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
SYRACUSE - Justin Bell is doing outstanding things for the Wawasee boys soccer team.
In 16 games, he has allowed just 10 goals. He has led the Warriors to 11 shutout games and a 9-3-4 regular season.
Let's do the math. High school soccer games consist of two 40-minute periods. Eleven shutout games equal 880 scoreless minutes, almost 15 scoreless hours on the field.
To take that one step further, in a total of 1,280 minutes of play, Bell and his defensive squad have allowed only 10 goals. On average, one goal scored every 128 minutes, or once every 1.6 games.
"Justin could definitely play at the next level if he wanted to," said Wawasee coach Paul Boyd. "He has the tools; he's 6-foot-3 and has the quickness necessary to play at the next level."
Surprisingly enough, Bell was not always a goalie.
"When he came to me as a freshman, he played at the halfback position," said Boyd. "We switched him to the goalie position.
"Justin has good vision; he sees the entire field, not just what is at the goal," said Boyd. "He sees the play so he can be very directional and help the other players on the field because he is watching what is happening down the field. This is difficult for individual players to do because they need to watch what is just ahead of them."
"He makes some unbelievable saves," said Boyd. "In our last game, he stopped a penalty kick. That's pretty tough to do."
Although Bell is a gifted player, he gets by with a little help from his friends. Defensive players switch in and out of games to help prevent many goal-scoring opportunities. John Glon, Matt Klaassen, Skyler Speakman, John Szynal, Kyle Swihart, Tomir Denton, and Chad Wortinger make up Bell's superior supporting cast.
"The guys in front of Justin make some great plays," said Boyd. "They break the plays down defensively so many shots never reach the goal line. They make the shots softer for Justin."
On the field, Bell is an exceptional athlete. Off the field, he is also a standout in the classroom.
"He is intelligent and a high honors student as well," said Boyd.
Bell uses his mindpower to enhance his soccer skills in competition.
"Soccer is a game that requires ability physically with the feet as well as mentally with the strategy," said Boyd.
Bell's career at Wawasee ends after this season. His competitive soccer career may end at the end of this season.
Bell plans to attend Purdue University to study engineering. At this time, Purdue has only a club program for soccer and does not have an intercollegiate soccer team.
As Bell looks to the future beyond Wawasee, Wawasee must also look toward a future without Bell and nine other seniors. Boyd has realistic expectations for Wawasee soccer life after graduation at the end of this year.
"Next year will be a difficult, slow transition," said Boyd. "Hopefully by the end of the season next year we will be ready for sectionals."
Right now Boyd is not trying to think about events too far in the future. He is looking at playing Warsaw in sectional action this week.
"Preparing for this week's game will be simple beacuse we play Warsaw," said Boyd. "The kids prepare themselves and get psyched up for the game. Warsaw is in the NLC and they are a county rival. Also, the kids play on leagues together so they know one another.
"There's a shared respect between the players on these teams, and this is always a fun matchup," said Boyd. "In the end, the guys shake hands knowing that they will probably see each other soon at the local stores or when they are out."
The Warriors will travel to Columbia City to face the Warsaw Tigers in sectional action at Max Gandy Athletic Field at 6 p.m. Thursday.
In other matchups, the NorthWood boys soccer team travels to Bethany Christian on Thursday to face Northridge at 6 p.m.
Girls soccer action begins tonight as three area teams compete for sectional glory. In Columbia City, Warsaw plays Columbia City at 7 this evening at the Max Gandy Athletic Field. Wawasee travels to East Noble, where the Warriors will face Westview at 8 this evening. NorthWood plays Concord at 7:30 this evening at the Goshen Soccer Complex. [[In-content Ad]]
SYRACUSE - Justin Bell is doing outstanding things for the Wawasee boys soccer team.
In 16 games, he has allowed just 10 goals. He has led the Warriors to 11 shutout games and a 9-3-4 regular season.
Let's do the math. High school soccer games consist of two 40-minute periods. Eleven shutout games equal 880 scoreless minutes, almost 15 scoreless hours on the field.
To take that one step further, in a total of 1,280 minutes of play, Bell and his defensive squad have allowed only 10 goals. On average, one goal scored every 128 minutes, or once every 1.6 games.
"Justin could definitely play at the next level if he wanted to," said Wawasee coach Paul Boyd. "He has the tools; he's 6-foot-3 and has the quickness necessary to play at the next level."
Surprisingly enough, Bell was not always a goalie.
"When he came to me as a freshman, he played at the halfback position," said Boyd. "We switched him to the goalie position.
"Justin has good vision; he sees the entire field, not just what is at the goal," said Boyd. "He sees the play so he can be very directional and help the other players on the field because he is watching what is happening down the field. This is difficult for individual players to do because they need to watch what is just ahead of them."
"He makes some unbelievable saves," said Boyd. "In our last game, he stopped a penalty kick. That's pretty tough to do."
Although Bell is a gifted player, he gets by with a little help from his friends. Defensive players switch in and out of games to help prevent many goal-scoring opportunities. John Glon, Matt Klaassen, Skyler Speakman, John Szynal, Kyle Swihart, Tomir Denton, and Chad Wortinger make up Bell's superior supporting cast.
"The guys in front of Justin make some great plays," said Boyd. "They break the plays down defensively so many shots never reach the goal line. They make the shots softer for Justin."
On the field, Bell is an exceptional athlete. Off the field, he is also a standout in the classroom.
"He is intelligent and a high honors student as well," said Boyd.
Bell uses his mindpower to enhance his soccer skills in competition.
"Soccer is a game that requires ability physically with the feet as well as mentally with the strategy," said Boyd.
Bell's career at Wawasee ends after this season. His competitive soccer career may end at the end of this season.
Bell plans to attend Purdue University to study engineering. At this time, Purdue has only a club program for soccer and does not have an intercollegiate soccer team.
As Bell looks to the future beyond Wawasee, Wawasee must also look toward a future without Bell and nine other seniors. Boyd has realistic expectations for Wawasee soccer life after graduation at the end of this year.
"Next year will be a difficult, slow transition," said Boyd. "Hopefully by the end of the season next year we will be ready for sectionals."
Right now Boyd is not trying to think about events too far in the future. He is looking at playing Warsaw in sectional action this week.
"Preparing for this week's game will be simple beacuse we play Warsaw," said Boyd. "The kids prepare themselves and get psyched up for the game. Warsaw is in the NLC and they are a county rival. Also, the kids play on leagues together so they know one another.
"There's a shared respect between the players on these teams, and this is always a fun matchup," said Boyd. "In the end, the guys shake hands knowing that they will probably see each other soon at the local stores or when they are out."
The Warriors will travel to Columbia City to face the Warsaw Tigers in sectional action at Max Gandy Athletic Field at 6 p.m. Thursday.
In other matchups, the NorthWood boys soccer team travels to Bethany Christian on Thursday to face Northridge at 6 p.m.
Girls soccer action begins tonight as three area teams compete for sectional glory. In Columbia City, Warsaw plays Columbia City at 7 this evening at the Max Gandy Athletic Field. Wawasee travels to East Noble, where the Warriors will face Westview at 8 this evening. NorthWood plays Concord at 7:30 this evening at the Goshen Soccer Complex. [[In-content Ad]]