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11/14/2017 11:00 PMJared Jamieson says that basketball has always been his main sport. However, Jared also got involved with the cross country and outdoor track squads at North Branford High School and wound up taking a liking to both of those sports, as well.
“I loved hanging out with the guys. It was a much different experience, because we’d hang out outside of the sport,” says Jared, a senior who also participates in North Branford’s Unified Sports program. “Everyone is motivated and full of energy, which made me fall in love with the sport.”
One of Jared’s biggest influences was Floyd Parness, who coached cross country and track at North Branford for many years. Parness passed away in May.
“He was a kind soul and had a love for running. He got me to do distance. He made outdoor track an unforgettable experience, which segued me to doing cross country,” says Jared of Parness. “Last year’s team was the best sports team I’ve ever partaken in. The bond I made not only with my grade, but athletes from different grades, I still talk with them and hang out with them.”
Jared started with cross country and track as a way to maintain his physique for basketball. Jared says he would have joined those teams sooner had he known how much fun he would have, especially in the javelin. Jared also competes in 800, 1,600, 3,200, and 4x800 relay with the T-Birds’ outdoor track squad.
“Last track season, we didn’t have huge numbers, so Floyd wanted me to partake in the field events, as well as running, so I took up the javelin, and that is one of the best events ever. I’m not particularly amazing, but I never noticed it as a sport...It’s now my favorite event,” says Jared. “I kept returning because of the friends I made on the team. That’s what made it all. Not the sport itself, but the people who did it with me.”
This fall, Jared was one of the cross country captains for first-year Head Coach Barry Doohan, who praises the leadership that Jared displayed. Doohan says Jared not only did a great job of cheering on his teammates, he also vastly improved his own times.
“He is a wonderful young man and shows great leadership. I wish I had him for another year,” Doohan says. “Jared is a physical young man and really closed the gap between he and [the team’s top runner Mike Madoule]. That’s amazing.”
Basketball players who do track often prefer the sprinting events to work on their quickness on the court. Jared knows that isn’t his specialty and says he likes how cross country improved his mental toughness.
“If you were to see a picture of me, I’m not cut out to be a sprinter. I don’t have the muscle mass for that, so I figured why not try distance? I have the mental drive to do distance, which is something my coaches have told me in the past,” Jared says. “Distance running in general is 90 percent mental toughness. You have to keep running and need that to push through aches and pains. That’s what I feel like I was built for, which is why I like to think I’m better than I should be. I just have that mental grit.”
Basketball has been a big part of Jared’s life for a long time. He gets in extra time on the court during summer and fall summer leagues in order to help him make impact in the post for North Branford.
“My biggest strength is seeing open positions on the floor and moving around to make it easier to make a pass or get a rebound,” says Jared. “I don’t score a whole lot, but I’m usually the rebounder, and I help make the plays happen as fluently as possible.”
While Jared loves basketball, he’s also found a new love for running, and will be continuing with that in memory of Coach Parness.
“Moving up from middle school, only doing basketball, I never thought I’d be doing distance running. It just took one coach who wouldn’t take no as an answer and kept persuading me to do it,” says Jared. “Even though he passed, I’m doing what he wanted and loving it at the same time.”