Boys high school soccer; Opposing teams always have to account for Wadsworth's Jackson Herbert

You can't guard what you can't see, and the Wadsworth boys soccer team has an absolute cheetah playing in the offensive third. Opponents are always on their heels when Jackson Herbert collects the ball and turns up field. "In high school, speed is 100% absolutely huge," Wadsworth coach John Johnson said. "You won't find too many kids that will have his pace and his speed. His speed alone at the next level will make him a wide player because he's elusive. Athletically, he's got to be one of the more gifted athletes walking the halls at Wadsworth." The junior uses his 4.3-second speed in the 40-yard dash to blow past the opposition. Last season, it led to a team-high 11 goals and four assists. As a freshman, he led the team with 12 goals and three assists, and a lot of that came from the fact he can blow by anyone put in front of him. "Having measurables like that, but having technical ability is great," Herbert said. "You have to be well-rounded or people will catch up to you. Speed certainly doesn't hurt. I love using my speed. It's something I can rely on. It's probably my biggest advantage moving forward into the attack." It has helped players like Kam Wagner (5 goals, 6 assists), as teams can't mark one of the midfielders without the other taking advantage. That's the way it's been for the two for almost a decade and they hope it continues this season. "Jackson has a very, very important role on our team," Wagner said. "He's our goal scorer. We expect him to put one, maybe two away a game because that's just the person he is. He scores. He gets by guys. That's what he does the best, and he's the best at it. "He makes life for me really easy. We've been playing together since we were 7 or 8 years old. I know where Jackson is all the time. I can find him on through balls. I know where to put it at his feet. It's like having a brother out there." With Austin Batey gone to graduation, Herbert, who can also play up top, finds his role expanding. The Grizzlies can look at the blueprint Medina had in Cole Werthmuller, Gavin Csiszar and Parker Csiszar. They can also look at what Brunswick did with Cole Parete last season. "When you look at players in the past like Cole from Brunswick or Gavin or Parker from Medina or Cole Werthmuller, they were all that man," Johnson said. "We're going to take lessons from them and we're going to learn. He can always give (Wadsworth graduate) Kai Wagner a call and ask how he dealt with it because he was that man. He can handle it. Physically, he's gotten bigger. I'm excited to see him play. "How much can he shoulder? I think he can handle being that guy on our team. I'm not saying he was ever immature, but he has matured into his role. He was my leading scorer as a freshman and then again last year. He drew a lot of man marking. At times there was a little bit of frustration, but now he understands his role. He's got personal goals, but his team goal far exceeds his personal goals." With two seasons already in the books, Herbert knows exactly how to excel and plans on using that experience on a team loaded with talent. "I've had a lot of guys to look up to," Herbert said. "Coach Johnson is telling me a lot of things now that he told me two years ago. I'm used to it now. "We have people like Kam and some younger players that can step up. I'm going to score some goals, but I have trust in my team." Contact Brad Bournival at bournival929@gmail.com.