I met Jamie when I was in 7th grade, and he was a freshmen through soccer. He was a prodigy even at that age, making the game seem so simple and easy. He had such a natural skill and talent, in the goal that simply had me in awe.
If you knew him at the time, he was a mix of being arrogant as well as being humble depending on who you were. -I had the benefit of him taking a liking to me-so he was arrogant LOL. At that time, I didn’t have a good parental influence but I loved soccer, so guess who became one of my favorite people? Jamie, and he never let me down.
Over the next 4 years, he took a special interest in helping me develop my soccer skills but was also a mentor regarding life, personal worth etc. To say he had an impact on my life is an understatement, and I believe he saw what I was dealing with that others didn’t(and he never brought it up). He just made me feel like I was not just enough, but had “some” value. This all from a guy before he was 18, how remarkable?
Unfortunately I never knew how to thank him for all the hours he spent with me, I’d like to think we were just good friends and I wasn’t just charity, and regret when I grew up and ran into him I didn’t either keep in regular contact moving forward- I’ve made mistakes and not showing my eternal gratitude to him is one of them- but he was a special MAN-even before he was grown up.
So thought it would be special to share this/my story with Jamie years after he was taken from us(too soon) to show his impact will last long after we lost his gift.
If this touches any of you who never shared a story, speak up now 😀👍.
To his family: thank you for helping to give all of us such an incredible gift.

Posted by Matt