Prep column: Keeping up with Jones

Barry Faulkner

Eric Jones may have found a new athletic love, but he still hasn’t

broken if off with his other sporting passion. And while two-sport

athletes are hardly a novelty in sun-drenched Southern California, the

6-foot-6 Corona del Mar High junior seems to have picked a rare

combination.

CdM sports enthusiasts would know Jones from his work as a starting

middle blocker for Coach Steve Conti’s boys volleyball team.

Perhaps less heralded, is the Michigan native’s participation as a

defenseman for one of the Southland’s top club ice hockey programs.

Whether he is swinging succinctly for a quickset kill or unleashing a

slap shot from the point, Jones strikes an imposing figure.

His size has led some to project a collegiate future in both sports.

But Jones believes, all things being equal, the tug between the two would

be a one-sided struggle.

“If there is an opportunity to play volleyball in college, I’ll pursue

that,” said Jones, whose progression into a formidable net performer

helped the Sea Kings advance to the CIF Southern Section Division IV

semifinals.

“If I could (play volleyball), I could probably stay on the West

Coast. That would entice me a lot.”

Jones’ affinity for volleyball is somewhat surprising, considering he

initially balked at his parents’ attempts to interest him in the game

before his freshman year.

“They tried to talk me into playing volleyball for school, but I

thought it was a girly sport,” Jones recalled.

He was ultimately convinced to give it a try after Paul Orris, then

coach of the CdM boys basketball team, introduced him to volleyball coach

Steve Conti his freshman year.

Though Jones, who has since dropped basketball, did not immediately

shine on the volleyball court, the sport began to grow on him.

He played junior varsity volleyball as a sophomore, then joined the

varsity this past season, eventually playing his way into the lineup.

“My freshman year was real rough, but things started to click for me a

little better when I was a sophomore,” Jones said. “This year, I

fine-tuned things a little more and I’ve started to learn the flow of the

game.”

Conti said Jones’ ability to grasp some finer points, allowed him to

display flashes of extreme promise. Conti said further development could

put him in position to make the most of his senior year.

Toward that end, Jones has committed to playing with the Balboa Bay

Club volleyball program for the first time this summer.

“Volleyball is so intense and it takes a ton of skill,” Jones said.

“It’s real challenging and it’s a lot of fun. It’s also real different

from hockey.”

His hockey commitment, as a member of the Midget Major AAA squad (ages

15-18) of the Los Angeles Junior Kings club program, will begin heating

up again in August.

The Junior Kings, whose regular season runs from August through

February and often extends to April with playoffs, practice two or three

times a week in Lakewood. Their regular Sunday league schedule is

bolstered by periodic trips to compete in tournaments, mostly in the

Midwest. During Jones’ tenure with the team, it has been ranked as high

as No. 6 nationally in its age group.

Olson, who terms himself a smart defenseman -- his GPA is hovering

around 4.0 -- with a pretty good shot from the point, said he loves the

physical aspects of hockey. Introduced to the game by his parents, both

of whom are Canadian, Jones developed an early allegiance to the Detroit

Red Wings. It was not until he moved to Southern California, however,

about the time Wayne Gretzky was lighting the lamp for the Kings, that he

took to the ice.

Jones admits there is little carry-over between the two sports, but

leg strength and the ability to make decisions on the fly are crucial to

both.

There are also the occasional physical reminders of his hockey

participation. He played CdM’s final volleyball match this season with

seven stitches in his chin, administered after what he termed “a little

scrum,” in a club hockey game just days before.

“I was sucker punched,” Jones said.

Jones said his fellow varsity returners wasted little time feeling

sorry for themselves after a three-game CIF Division IV semifinal setback

to Pacific Coast League rival Northwood.

“After we lost, some guys came over to my house and we all worked out

on my (climbing machine), which helps increase your vertical leap.”