JAMESTOWN — Carter Genter has probably logged close to 1,000 hours spent playing soccer in the last year.
“I’ve improved a lot,” Genter, a junior for the Jamestown High School soccer team, said. “I played the entire offseason — winter, spring and summer. This entire summer the whole team has been working really hard. We would just mess around and practice together and stuff — it’s been a lot of fun.”
The practice has clearly paid off.
This season marks Genter’s second official season as a Blue Jay varsity player and it’s the best he has seen since he started playing 12 years ago. The Blue Jays ended their regular season at 11-1-2 which has pinned them as the No. 2 team in the West Region.
The Blue Jays’ most recent win, a 4-1 defeat of Mandan on Tuesday, Sept. 26, guaranteed the team a spot in the 2023 state tournament.
ADVERTISEMENT
“Especially this year, soccer is so much bigger than it has been,” Genter said. “We actually had people try out for the team this year and we have a bench this year which is really nice and the fans are starting to recognize it too. It’s fun having them at games.”
A life without soccer is not a life Genter remembers well.
“My dad used to play soccer when he was my age so he kind of threw me into it when I was really young,” Genter said. “My first memory playing soccer was with some people on this team who just came back — Jackson Steele and Louis Kjellberg. There’s not too much that I remember from those early games but I do remember that we did win a lot of games. We were actually pretty good when we were young.”
Well — good in most positions.
“I played goalkeeper for a little bit — it was bad — I wasn’t the best at it,” Genter said with a laugh. “I also played left back and right back as a defender. Eighth grade year I made the switch to offense. Now, I play striker and sometimes wingback — at first it was hard because I would always run back too far but I’ve started to get used to it now.”
His improvement is a credit to the coaching in Jamestown, a lack of sidelining injuries, the skill set of his teammates and of course — his dad, Corey.
“I love my dad,” Genter said. “He played for a long time too — so it’s kind of that thing that we get to share which is nice. He’s taught me so much as a player and as a person. He’s my role model for sure.
“(Head coach Brandi Harty) is very smart and she helps us a lot too,” he said. “She doesn’t yell, she doesn’t get mad. She’s a very content coach and is very nice. When she yells at us from the bench we know she’s just trying to make us better. She’s really taught me a lot just about sportsmanship and to have a good character. That’s of big importance on this team. She’s made me a better person.”
ADVERTISEMENT
John M. Steiner / The Jamestown Sun
While Genter has been under Harty’s direction for the better part of the last five years, 2023 marks the first time he has been named a starter and has played consistent minutes for the longstanding head coach. Genter didn’t see much time last year due to a growing pains-related injury in his knee.
“My knees have been really good this season,” Genter said. “It stays with you. It still hurts sometimes but it’s not anywhere near as bad as it used to be. It’s helped so much that I can play and don’t have to be injured every game. It’s been way easier to play on and to adapt which has been nice.”
Having a team that has played together since the early 2010s is also “nice.”
“I’ve been with some of these guys since the start,” Genter said. “Some guys are new — just joined two or three years ago — and some are coming back. It’s fun that we are upperclassmen now and we’re starting to win these games. Everyone has their own IQs of the game and it’s good when you have a lot of people who are smart at specific things because you get better together.
“Iddi Ramadhani is really smart at passing — he can find almost everyone,” he said. “He’s been helping me with my footwork. Gabe Jenison has helped me with being smart with the ball, Connor Traut is one of our big seniors this year. He’s getting like a goal a game for us and just all around he’s been helping our team out so much.”
While Genter has known about the Blue Jays’ skills since he started playing back in 2011, others in the West Region weren’t expecting such a strong outing from the Jays this year. Jamestown was picked fifth in the 2023 Preseason Coaches Poll. Between 2020 to 2022 the Jays won 17 games, lost 27 and tied on four occasions. The team’s last winning season, prior to this year, was back in 2019.
“I think (other teams) somewhat knew but I don’t think anybody really knew what we were fully capable of,” Genter said. “The game that we won against Legacy really showed people what we were capable of.”
The Jays defeated Legacy 3-1 on Sept. 7. Jamestown faced Legacy again on Sept. 28. It ended up being the Sabers who won the regular season finale 2-0.
ADVERTISEMENT
The Jays’ two ties have been a credit to Minot. The Jays faced the Magicians in game No. 1 of the season where they tied them 1-1. On Sept. 12 in Minot, the two teams played 80 minutes and it resulted in a 0-0 tie.
“Minot — we just can’t seem to get them,” Genter said. “The second game was a lot different than the first. They weren’t as aggressive or as direct, they played smarter. They’re a good team — I am sure we’ll see them later in the year.”
Minot will enter next week’s WDA Tournament as the No. 3 seed. While the Blue Jays and Legacy have already punched their tickets to state, the pair will battle for the WDA championship title and the WDAs No. 1 seed on Oct. 7 at the Sanford Sports Complex in Bismarck.
“I try not to overthink it,” Genter said of the big upcoming games. “It’s one game at a time. I think we could either win State or place high at State. That’s what I am hoping for. We will keep winning these games if we keep playing as a team.”
John M. Steiner / The Jamestown Sun
.