By John Kovach, Youngstown Vindicator
There aren't too many college students who have an award named after them while they still are in school, so Adam Jones of Canfield has to be considered a very special person who has joined elite company.
Jones, a senior at Baldwin-Wallace College in Berea and a former soccer played for the Yellow Jackets before he was injured as a freshman, was honored on Jan. 23 at the team banquet with the announcement that the Jonesey Öward was being created in his honor for contributions to the team.
Coach Reid Ayers announced that the Jonesey Award will become the new name of the Player's Player Award that Jones won in 2008 — the first non-player to win the honor — and will be presented to a player who "epitomizes the guy that I [or any player] would be glad to have as a teammate."
Ayers said that the award was named after Jones because of all the help that he has given the B-W squad as a student manager and student coach, after being sidelined by a career-ending ankle re-injury in the spring of his freshman year.
"He was chosen by a vote of the players," said Ayers, noting that this is the ninth year for the award.
"[The award is] vague in definition but it has been in existence since 2002 when I came in," Ayers said. "I wanted to have something that focused on the ideal teammate. But it would be up to the people making the selection to determine the definition. It could be an unsung hero, but to me it is a little bit of everything in a person."
Jones, the son of Gary and Mary Fran Jones, will graduate in May with a degree in political science. He believes that the main reason he was selected for the award was because, "I was pretty much on call for anyone when they needed anything.
"I never finished [the year] with my [practice] gear because I would give up my gear to others who needed it. There were a lot off little things that I would do," he pointed out.
Ayers said he believes that Jones is the ideal person to receive the honor and have it named after him.
"Adam was such a unique individual. He came in as decorated player and was an All-Ohio kid," Ayers said. "We had big plans for him on the field.
"But he injured his ankle and the doctors concluded that the day-to-day pounding would be a bad thing for him," Ayers said. "This happened his freshman year but he wanted to be part of the group and do whatever he can to contribute to the program."
Jones, a 2006 Canfield High graduate, was four-year soccer player for the Cardinals and a third-team All-Ohio selection his senior year. He tried to play at B-W after being injured again but the ankle wasn't strong enough.
"It was something that I couldn't do every single day. Whenever I was feeling healthy and good, I would go out to practice because I could still play, but couldn't play every day," said Jones, who also won other honors while at Canfield.
He was a four-year All-District and All-Metro Athletic Conference first-team selection, while also making the National Soccer Coaches Association of America/Adidas Regional All American team.
Ayers said that Jones did not want to leave the team.
"He kept coming to practice and we started giving him things to do. After the season, we created the student coach position and he began doing that job as a sophomore," said Ayers, who coaches both the men's and women's soccer teams.
Jones has a 3.2 grade-point average and is planning to return to Washington, D.C., after graduation in May to pursue a career in government and politics.
"I did an internship with the Washington, D.C. Board of Elections last summer, and my sister lives there, and so I plan to return to do another internship while scouting the area for a job in government and politics," said Jones, whose name will continue to live in B-W soccer long after he graduates with the annual presentation of the Jonesey Award.
John Kovach writes about college athletes for The Vindicator. Write him at kovach@vindy.com.
