@jess_ganga[/author_info] [/author]
EWING — There is nothing that can be compared to the love and support of a parent. They are the loudest cheering section at a sports game and will sit in freezing weather just to see their child score the winning goal or have their moment out on the field.
For senior goalkeeper Jessica Weeder, her parents have been her support team for the 13 years she has been playing soccer for. Her parents got a chance to watch their daughter be honored for being a dedicated player for the sport she loved during Senior Day before The College of New Jersey Women’s soccer team’s, 2-1, double-OT win over Ramapo College.
For Amy Weeder, Jessica’s mother, it was a mix of different feelings as she watched her daughter be recognized during her last home game of the regular season.
“It’s a great culmination and it feels satisfying, frankly,” Amy Weeder said. “It’s a wonderful feeling to watch a person who’s put so much into it all of her life. She does a lot in her academics and in other areas, but this has been a love for her for forever.”
Jessica Weeder has played soccer for most of her life and it was hard for her mother to even imagine her not playing the sport.
“I can’t even imagine her stopping playing,” Amy Weeder said. “Just being able to watch her achieve
what she has and know that it’s satisfactory.”
For Jessica Weeder, this won’t be her final moments on a soccer field, according to her mother. She will never stop playing and doing what she has always loved to do, something that Amy Weeder knows to be true.
“I remember some senior parents last year saying ‘oh my gosh it’s the last time I’m going to see my daughter play’ and I can’t even imagine that because Jess isn’t going to stop playing,” Amy Weeder said. “She plays women’s leagues in the summer and continues. It’s lifelong and it’s lovely. It’s lovely to have something you adore so much and teammates you really click with”
Weeder’s father, Carl, was also in attendance at Saturday’s game and ceremony. He put it quite simply what the moment was like this season of watching her finally step out onto the field after three years of not playing.
“That’s simple: It’s the greatest thrill of my life,” Carl Weeder said. “We waited three years for her to get on the field and it’s just a wonderful opportunity for her and a thrill for us.”
Jessica Weeder has enjoyed her time at TCNJ playing for the soccer team, but more so, she has been happy to have her parents there for every time she stepped out onto the field and took her place in the net.
“It’s so nice that my parents have come to almost every game to support me even if I’m not playing,” Weeder said. “I know that they are so proud of me and that they just want the best for me. Having them there is just a comforting feeling.”