Girls Soccer | Beamer’s Crook duo driven
Jordan and Holland Crook could play any other sport, or no sport at all.
Billy Crook insists he wouldn’t care.
But the soccer roots run deep in this family and Beamer High School of Federal Way is one of the big beneficiaries. Jordan and Holland have helped key the 19-1 Titans’ run to the Class 4A state girls semifinals. They play Woodinville, the defending state champion, at 8 p.m. today at Harry Lang Stadium in Lakewood.
Billy Crook is a proud papa who coaches his daughters on a Premier 1 club team, MRFC Santos out of Sumner. He knows a thing or two about the sport. The 1982 Kent-Meridian graduate was drafted by the Seattle Sounders and was best known as a tenacious defender during a nine-year tenure with the Tacoma Stars.
Billy, 43, still plays in an over-40 league and regularly schools his daughters.
“He kills me,” said Holland, a sophomore forward who was voted co-MVP of the South Puget Sound League South Division this season. “He teaches me a lot.”
Oldest sister Adrianne played at Federal Way High School and Lynn University in Boca Raton, Fla. Younger brother Ike, now a seventh-grader, is already turning heads and Beamer coaches can’t wait until he arrives.
As for mom, Erin?
“She’s a soccer driver,” Jordan said.
And while Billy is happy their children share his love of the game, he would have had no problem if they chose another path.
“I never pushed them to play,” he said. “They play because they have a passion for the game. I wouldn’t care if they sat home and read books. But it’s fun being able to share it with them.”
Jordan and Holland are having a blast playing for Beamer, which avenged its only loss of the season by beating Kentwood in the quarterfinals last Saturday. Kentwood’s team includes three of the Crooks’ cousins.
But playing for dad brings the most joy.
“It’s perfect,” Jordan said of the situation.
Jordan, a senior midfielder, is an intelligent player and team leader who demands excellence. A 4.0 student, she plans to play at Vassar University in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. She has no qualms admitting Holland is the more skilled player.
“Have you seen her play?” she asks matter-of-factly. “She was just born to play.”
Holland leads Beamer in scoring with 18 goals and also has four assists. Adam Kulaas, the Titans’ boys coach who assists Carrie Hentschell with the girls, calls Holland “one of those rare players who comes along who is fun to watch whether it’s in practice or in a game.” He has said he sometimes wishes Holland could play for the Beamer boys.
Hentschell, who started the Beamer program five years ago, said Jordan and Holland have a special relationship.
“Their unique qualities complement each other nicely,” she said, noting she has visited the Crook home several times. “Their home radiates warmth, family and togetherness - and of course soccer. Can’t forget that.”