Jordan Allar
Sports Editor
This month’s Spartan Speaks boys’ athlete is junior soccer and hockey player Jamie Bazil. Bazil has been involved in sports all of his life, and at the age of five, he started playing soccer, and at the age of seven, his love for hockey began to bloom. Bazil has been on varsity for soccer since his freshman year and varsity hockey since his sophomore year.
Bazil recently finished his junior soccer season with many highlights. In 2019, Orono Men’s Soccer placed fourth in the state tournament. Bazil mentioned that the team also placed in the state tournament in his freshman season.
Being that Bazil was a captain this past soccer season, he would help start off practices and games.
“We would start with some stretching, talk about what we would want to do in practice, and then mimic what we would want to in a game for upcoming games,” Bazil said.
Bazil is a team player. His greatest strengths in soccer include his ability to control the game, slow it down and help out his teammates. He is proud of this past season and is ready for his senior season.
As for Bazil’s current hockey season, he is a captain on the varsity squad. For the seven games that Bazil has played in and a team record of 6-0-1, he has made three goals and six assists, according to Minnesota Boys’ Hockey Hub (as of Dec. 16). Bazil is very superstitious and it shows in his games.
“I eat the same stuff [before games], I’ll prepare the same way and listen to the same music,” Bazil said.
Bazil has big goals and aspirations for this hockey season. In the 2017-18 hockey season, the Spartans won the Class 1A championship and hope to do the same this year.
“I want to make it to the Xcel this year. I want to go all the way and I want to show that our team can compete with the top teams,” Bazil said.
Bazil mentioned that he enjoys playing sports in back-to-back seasons.
“It’s more fun … It helps me get away from school and stuff. It helps relieve stress,” Bazil said.
Bazil is currently undecided about playing in college for either soccer or hockey, but it is a possibility to take his skills to the next level.
Outside of sports, Bazil is involved in a lot of different clubs, specifically in leadership clubs, but noted that he spends most of his time training for sports.