DATE: Thursday, September 11, 1997          TAG: 9709110697

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA 

SOURCE: BY JEFF ZEIGLER, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: ELIZABETH CITY                    LENGTH:   51 lines

SOCCER COMES BACK TO ALBEMARLE SCHOOL AFTER LONG ABSENCE

A golden sunset was falling over the Albemarle School athletic fields as Bill Jones talked about the dawn of a new soccer program at the private school.

While children kicked a ball across the grass and dirt of the baseball infield, which substitutes in the fall for a soccer field, Jones talked about the task of bringing a group of kids together to form Albemarle's first soccer team in eight years.

Seventeen players have shown interest in participating, including two exchange students from Brazil. It's a diverse group according to age and ability.

``I have all talent levels on this team,'' Jones said. ``Some go to summer camp every year and I've got some that have never played before. They really just talk to one another and support each other. That's the main thing, we're a team.

``We have seventh-graders, all the way up to 12th-graders,'' he added. ``We're playing teams that have a varsity team of just 11th- and 12th-graders. We're smaller in size. It's going to be tough physically.''

Jones, a second-year high school social studies teacher who graduated from Northeastern High School, College of The Albemarle and Elizabeth City State University, said his team has a challenging schedule. Included are Rocky Mount Academy, Plymouth High School, Norfolk Christian, and other private schools from Tidewater Virginia. All are much larger schools and some have had a longtime tradition of strong soccer programs.

``Some of these teams are probably way out of our league. We're going to play them and see where we are at,'' Jones said. ``We played Rocky Mount Academy, which is a large private school. We lost pretty soundly. We played Ridgecroft and the coach told me they have had a team for 20 years and we only lost 4-0. He complimented me as well as the team and said we have a good base going.''

The Colts will no doubt take their lumps this year. But Jones has a good attitude about it.

``We're trying to learn a lot. We're trying to build a program,'' he said. ``Our motto is let's have fun, but let's win some games.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color Photos

DREW C. WILSON/The Virginian-Pilot

Brazilian exchange student Bruno Morad, 16, kicks up his heels,

above, revealing expert technique as Albemarle Academy warms up for

its first home game Wednesday. At right, Albemarle player John

Russell goes to his knees as Plymouth team members rush past him.

``We're trying to learn a lot,'' says coach Bill Jones. ``We're

trying to build a program.'' Plymouth triumphed over the Colts, 8-1.

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