BEREA, OHIO - Jeff Bonezzi came Baldwin-Wallace College from Medina High School to major in physical education, minor in physics, and run track and cross country for the Yellow Jackets. Five years later, he is now in his final year of school, wrapping up his degree with a major in physical education and a minor in physics and playing a different sport -- soccer.
Bonezzi had three very successful years of running for the Brown & Gold, twice earning All Ohio Athletic Conference honors in indoor track as a member of the distance medley relay team and as a member of the outdoor 4 x 800-meter relay squad. He lettered three times for track and cross country and was one of the leaders on the team for three years. Then going into his fourth year at B-W, Jeff decided to switch to soccer, a sport he played for two years in high school and gave it up for cross country
"I reached a point during my junior year when I realized this would be the last chance I had to try and play soccer again. I decided to try and get back into it so I would have no regrets after college. This would be the final opportunity to play competitive soccer at a great place such as B-W. I thought my cross country career had been fairly successful and although I could have gotten a little better as a senior, I wanted to try my luck with soccer. It was my passion for so long, my favorite game growing up. Finishing my career as a freshman in high school would have left a sour taste in my mouth. So I went for it." said Bonezzi when asked why the drastic change so late in his collegiate career.
The switch was not easy either, the training involved between the two is very different as Bonezzi explains, "There is much more multi-directional training, ball work, plyometric, and explosive acceleration training. In track, I was running about 40-60 miles per week depending on the point in the season. There was some interval workouts and gut wrenching 400 meter repeats, but it was a different type of taxing workout. In soccer, the volume is reduced and the quality of work is higher in a shorter amount of time."
Most collegiate athletes can only excell at one sport, Bonezzi is the exception. He trained for a year to get into soccer shape and like any other athlete he was nervous joining a new team. Luckily he had some friendly faces to help him out along the way. One of them was B-W graduate and 2009 OAC Goalkeeper of the Year Russ Mika '10, who he had played with growing up.
"Playing with Russ Mika meant a lot because we grew up together in this sport playing on Medina Rangers, Ohio Premier, and at Medina High school," said Bonezzi. "Having Russ behind me during all those games last season made me feel more comfortable during high stress situations. His communication during games and practices was so valuable to the success I had in the fall. He was constantly encouraging me to make certain runs or shifting to cover forwards, I cannot stress enough the progress I made because of Russ' experience."
Bonezzi not only made the B-W squad, he started 20 games as a defender and was a key contributor on a squad that finished 13-7-1 overall and 7-1-1 in the OAC. He finished the season with one goal and three assists and emerged as a leader on a young team.
This season, Bonezzi has continued to be a key mainstay on a squad that has built an 9-5-4 overall mark, including a team title at the SUNY-Fredonia (N.Y.) Tournament in mid-September.
"I am glad that I returned to playing soccer," said Bonezzi as he reflects on his final season. "I am going to enjoy this time and take advantage of playing my favorite game each and every day."
Bonezzi and the men's soccer team return home to play their final two games of the regular season next week against John Carroll University on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. and versus Muskingum University on Saturday at 7:00 p.m.
FOR MORE BW SPORTS INFORMATION, please contact Sports Information Director Kevin Ruple by telephone at 440-826-2327 and e-mail at kruple@bw.edu or Asst. SID Jeff Miller by phone at 440-826-2780 and email at jefmille@bw.edu Fans can access BW athletics information at www.BWyellowjackets.com and we invite you to join us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/bwyellowjackets and Twitter at http://twitter.com/bwathletics.
