Recruit Highlight - Jonah Elliott, Men's Soccer
One newcomer to Rustlers soccer this fall is an athlete very familiar to its coaching staff.
Saskatoon's Jonah Elliott is joining the men's program as a centre back and hopes to make an impact on the roster. Last fall, after garnering plenty of interest from Rustlers Coach Kevin Wagner, Elliott went to university in Ontario and did not play the sport for the first time since he was a young child.
"As the months went by, I started to really miss playing soccer," he said. "Around December I started to think about playing again and I reached out to Kevin around April."
Following that conversation, Wagner was pleased to have Elliott back in the fold. The same qualities that the head coach saw in the rookie defender are something he hopes will bolster the program for several years.
"He knows what our program is about, our value structure and what I'm like," Wagner said. "As a first year player, he has a chance to get meaningful minutes and a good piece to build around."
Elliott comes with quality experience from his time in Saskatoon, which has helped counter the time off last season.
"He's been a part of high end academies, where he inherently understands the grind of training," Wagner said. "Because of the year off, he has some rust, but I'm expecting his confidence to back in short order through preseason."
Since getting back into training, Elliott said he has found the transition to be a smooth one.
"Everything's set up for us already, nothing you have to relearn, or you are taught it right away," he said. "My play, my technique, it's about 75-80 per cent there. Just a few things that I have to focus on to get to where I want to be at the start of the regular season."
The rookie added that he's enjoyed getting to know his new teammates and believes the team's ceiling is high. Following their performance in early play, he said the group feels good about their potential.
"We all seem pretty confident this season and are ready to compete in our division," Elliott said. "I'm really excited to study here and be a part of the program."
The Rustlers soccer teams open league play on the road this year, with a Sept. 9th showdown with the NAIT Ooks, who lost in the ACAC title match last year. Their home opener is the following afternoon against the Concordia Thunder.