Bethel players adjust to changes
Pablo, Moreno will both run cross country as well
“I had a cousin who played soccer and ran cross country at Bethel. He told me that it was a really good way to condition for soccer and I ended up really liking it.”
— Bryan Moreno, Jesse Bethel High.
Jesse Bethel High players have become accustomed to playing boys soccer in the winter season in cold and sometimes wet conditions.
Because of the coronavirus pandemic, soccer was moved to the spring months, and that’s fine with players like Rogelio Pablo and Bryan Moreno. More than anything, they just want to play.
The two underclassmen are expected to be two of the Jaguars’ starters on a team that went 13-3-2 overall and 9-1-2 in the Tri- County Athletic League a year ago. Bethel made the North Coast Section playoffs as well after a dramatic regular season that included a win, tie and loss against rival Vallejo.
The two plan to run cross country too. That’s one of
the sports that is expected to begin in December and January as long as state, county and Vallejo Unified conditions allow it.
Bethel head coach Jonathan Tzun said many of his players have been training for soccer with their club teams and a few times per week the players will play some pick-up games at Vallejo parks as long as fields are available.
Tzun said he thinks players like Pablo and Moreno will be able to handle a more compacted sports schedule in 2020-21. In the past players weren’t allowed to play club soccer at the same time as high school, but the California Interscholastic Federation has OKed that this year, temporarily suspending bylaws 600- 605.
“At the end of the day, the kids are going to be well conditioned,” Tzun said. “As long as the kids eat well and get their sleep, they should be fine.”
Moreno plays for Vallejo United and Pablo for American Canyon Atletico. The two have known each other since elementary school but never played on the same soccer team until high school.
Tzun said he lost 12 seniors to graduation so there will be lots of starting spots to be filled this season.
Pablo was a forward on last year’s team but likely will move to defender in 2021.
Pablo, a junior, said he doesn’t mind switching to defense.
“That’s my main position anyway,” he said. “They had me attacking more last year but it’s like going back to my original position.”
Moreno, a sophomore, started last season as left fullback.
“At first, I didn’t think I was going to be a starter,” he said. “I thought I would be more of a 15-minute player, maybe playing in the last 15 minutes. Coach Jon put me back there and left me there.”
Moreno ran varsity cross country as a freshman last season and he said his personal-best time was around 22-23 minutes over a 3-mile course. He said he’d like to get that time down to about 20-something this season.
“I had a cousin who played soccer and ran cross country at Bethel,” Moreno said. “He told me that it was a really good way to condition for soccer and I ended up really liking it.”
Pablo said he conditioned with the cross country team as a freshman and a sophomore but plans to run in races for the first time this year.
“One, I am doing it for conditioning,” he said. “Be
cause of the pandemic, I really want to get outside and get back into shape. I find running pretty fun too.”
Moreno said he was considering kicking field goals and PATs for the Bethel football team too but isn’t sure about that due to time constraints.
Moreno and Pablo are both excellent students. Along with their classmates, they have been in distance learning since March when campuses were closed due to the pandemic.
“For me, I actually like it,” Moreno said about online classes. “I’ve been getting straight A’s so I’ve been trying to keep my GPA at 4.0. I’m just been trying to consistently get my work done.”
Pablo indicated that he likes in- person learning much better.
“For me, it’s a struggle at times,” he said. “I have two AP classes (Chemistry and English) so it can be difficult.”
Tzun is looking forward to official practice with his team once things open up again.
“I think we’ll have a very deep and talented squad,” he said. “We don’t have the seniors that we did last year so we may have to fill in with some freshmen and sophomores. We have some talented players from the junior varsity team that will help us too.”