By: Victor Gouchee
Year: Senior
Hometown: Port Moody, British Columbia
Major: General Studies (Education), Minor in Curriculum and Instruction
Favourite soccer player of all time: Ryan Giggs
Kyle Jones has been a prominent player for the men’s soccer team over the last three seasons, and ever since he arrived at Burnaby Mountain, he has made the centre of the pitch his. His role as a central midfielder is crucial to the Clan, as it allows him to serve as the link between the defence and the attackers.
During the off-season, Kyle played for the Calgary Foothills in the Professional Development League (PDL), a North American league for developing young players between their university seasons and pushing them toward professional leagues. The Foothills team are always competitive, visiting the national final just two seasons prior. This last summer saw Calgary go one step further and win the PDL Championship!
The upcoming 2018 season with SFU would have been Jones’ last year of eligibility for the Clan team, and a year he would have wanted to make as memorable as possible, perhaps by winning a national title, this time in the NCAA. Unfortunately, things won’t go according to plan for Jones.
Before the end of the PDL regular season, Jones tore his ACL, forcing him out of contention for the eventual title-winning Foothills lineup. Of course, an ACL injury means a long spell on the sidelines and therefore Kyle will not be playing for SFU in what would be his senior year.
The Peak: How was your PDL season playing out prior to the injury?
Kyle Jones: It was going pretty well. We had a strong team so training was competitive and professional. I was actually playing quite well [during] the game I [hurt] my knee so that was unlucky.
P: Were you looking forward to the SFU season after the PDL season?
K: Of course. Starting the year with a trip to Norway would have anyone buzzing for the season, but a few weeks before I was meant to come back home to train, I did it [the injury] and I didn’t actually get to go.
P: How did the injury happen?
K: Just an unfortunate turn chasing back and it was gone.
P: What were the first few days like following the injury?
K: Because I was able to walk and swelling was minimal, I was hopeful that it would just be a bad hyperextension, but I kind of knew it was worse than that. I mean, I’m allowed to dream, aren’t I?
P: Why did you have to leave, or how did you come to the decision to leave the Foothills before the end of the season?
K: In June, I had spoken with Schneids [Clint Schneider, SFU Men’s Soccer Head Coach] about the Norway trip. Since we [Calgary Foothills] were projected to go far from the beginning of the season, originally the plan was to meet SFU in Norway right from where we’d end up in the playoffs. However far we made it in the playoffs, I’d meet [the SFU team] in Norway right from where the finals were. That plan didn’t pan out, and he wanted me back to train before we went. So a couple of days later I booked a flight back for the end of July where I’d have missed at least the semifinals of the PDL. I spent about two to three weeks post-injury in Calgary getting my MRI, getting physio, working out, etc. It wasn’t really my choice since I never want to leave a team early, but I understand why I needed to be back. However, since nothing could be done for me after my injury, I’m glad I could have come home early.
P: How did you feel before the surgery?
K: I was at a standstill for about two months, so I was excited that I could start getting better. Surgery was just step one in my long process of recovering.
P: How did you feel after the surgery?
K: Even [now] after my surgery, I’m still excited. I may be looking too far forward at this point, but I want to get back and play.
P: What is your timeline to come back and what’re you doing to get there?
K: On average, it takes seven to nine months to fully recover, but there [are] a lot of little goals to reach like getting back to jogging, then sport-specific training, then training with the team again, then slowly getting back into playing games.
P: How do you feel about how the team has started the season, and what are your expectations for the guys for the rest of the season?
K: It’s an unreal start. I hope this momentum keeps going forward as the semester goes forward. It’s hard to be as focussed on the sports aspect so much come midterm season, but the team looks much more mature this season, and hopefully we can handle it and not let the high standard we’ve set dip.
