Norman North's Jordan Jerles: Driven Athlete of the Month – Presented by Landers Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram of Norman

By John Tranchina

Jordan Jerles has loved soccer since he was a toddler, and a lot of that can be traced to the Norman North junior’s desire to follow in the footsteps of his older brother Jacob.

“I’ve been playing soccer since I was three and I’ve always grown up seeing my brother play and always wanted to be like him, and he was a great player in high school,” Jerles said. “I just like the game of soccer and (Norman North coach Geo Claros) is one of the best mentors in my life, so I feel like going through his footsteps and just being the best soccer player that I can be is what I wanted to do.”

Jacob Jerles was a key member of the Timberwolves’ three Class 6A state championships in four years from 2012-15, and has been a big inspiration to Jordan.

“My brother went to UCA for two years and played soccer there and then he just transferred to Arkansas to major in business engineering,” Jordan said. “He played at Norman North, he got runner-up in Oklahoma state player of the year, he had 19 goals as a senior (in 2015). He had three state championships at North, so I just always wanted to follow in his footsteps.”

Jordan Jerles has been a versatile player for the Timberwolves, lining up all over the field through his three varsity seasons.

“I play center back and center mid,” Jerles said. “My freshman year, I played outside forward and then through my sophomore and junior year, I’ve been playing holding mid and center back. Center back is one of the most important spots, because we need to play defense before we can play offense, so (Coach Claros) just put me at center back for this year.”

“Jordan is an extremely competitive young man that will do and play anywhere to help the team win,” Claros added. “He is technically gifted and has high tactical knowledge for the game.”