This year at Oswego State midfielder Thomas Jackson prepares to pick up soccer for the first time since his senior year of high school.

Jackson moved with his family from Birmingham, England, at age three for his father’s job. According to Jackson, he never noticed any cultural differences because he made the move at such a young age.

As a cultural instinct, Jackson started playing soccer as soon as he could start walking and hasn’t looked back since. Soccer came naturally to Jackson and is the only sport he has ever played.

Jackson was an honor student that attended Williamsville North High School in Buffalo. There, he started for the varsity team for all four years, and after graduation in 2015, he decided to continue his education at Oswego State.

One of the driving factors for Jackson to attend Oswego is not just to play soccer. According to Jackson, his main reasoning was for his major, electrical engineering.

“I chose electrical engineering because math and science were always my favorite subjects,” Jackson said. “I had also been interested in learning about computers.”

Jackson said he is happy that he chose Oswego to continue his education.

“I enjoyed my first year here,” Jackson said. “There’s always things to do and the people are really nice.”

Jackson did not play soccer his freshman year of college because he was cut during his freshman year but after having one full year of academics under his belt, he decided to pick the sport back up for his sophomore year.

The difference in level of competition is noticeable from high school to college and Jackson is still adjusting.

“The speed of play is a lot faster at college,” Jackson said. “Everybody is more skillful.”

“He sent some information out to me his freshman year and I got a chance to look at him,” said head coach Bob Friske. “I didn’t think he was at his best his freshman year when he tried out but we gave him another opportunity this year.”

According to Friske, this year Jackson came in to tryouts in shape and with a great attitude, earning him a spot on the 2016 team.

“He’s a great kid with a tremendous amount of love and passion for the game,” Friske said. “He’s one of those kids here that I hope can take us to the next level.”

According to Jackson, his goals for the season are to start for some  games and, of course, score some goals. Jackson will need to keep his hard-working mentality going this year if he wants to see significant time on the pitch.

“The most important thing for me is working hard for my teammates,” Jackson said. “You don’t want to let anybody down while everyone else is working hard.”

“He works hard and has a ton of potential so I’m really looking forward to having him in the program,” Friske said. “I want to see him get better every game, like all of the other players. I also want to see him contribute whether it be being a positive kid and working hard or being somebody that gets a lot of minutes or starts.”

Even with the extensive workouts and long practices, Jackson expressed that he is happy to be on the team and back to playing the game he loves.

The Lakers’ next match comes against a team they failed to beat last season, powerhouse St. Lawrence University, on Friday at 4 p.m.