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Like many other recent high school grads, Brandon's Brett Baer and Callaway's Jabril Smith are starting to see the early days of summer as both a beginning and an end.
The duo, who excelled in both soccer and football, will take part in today's 26th boys All-Star Soccer game at Hinds Community College's Joe Renfroe Stadium in Raymond. It will likely mark the last time they are recognized for their soccer achievements, but might not be their final athletic flings. Both players plan to play football in college as kickers.
Baer, who was named to The Clarion-Ledger's All-State soccer team, will play on the South squad and recognizes this game as the epilogue to his lifelong soccer career.
"This is probably the last organized soccer game I'll play in," says Baer, whose father coached him throughout his youth. "It's definitely an honor just to go out there and have fun and play with some of the guys I've been playing with all my life."
<center><p><a href="http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080614/SPORTS06/806140328/1025" target="_blank">The rest of the story</a>
Stephen K. Lee •
slee4@jackson.gannett.com • June 14, 2008
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Baer also starred as place-kicker for the Brandon football team. After earning a football scholarship to the University of Louisiana-Lafayette, he will trade in his shin guards and shorts for a helmet and shoulder pads for good this fall.
Baer committed to the Ragin' Cajuns a few weeks into football season, choosing the sport that would allow him to play at a higher level of competition.
"During football season, when (ULL) offered me a scholarship at D-I football," Baer says "I decided that I'd rather be playing D-I football than playing soccer at a community college close by. I guess it was just the opportunity."
Randy West, who coached Baer in soccer and football at Brandon, is glad his multi-sport star earned a scholarship.
"(Baer's) just a hard, hard-working athlete and he's just fortunate to be able get an education playing college football," West says.
Smith will face Baer on the North team today. He plans to kick for Jackson State.
Smith says he'll miss the pride he feels as a two-sport athlete. Though there is a vast difference between being a star soccer player and being a special teams performer in football, Smith expected the same out of himself in both roles.
"I'm more involved in a soccer game," he says. "But, eventually (the difference in involvement between the two roles) really doesn't bother me as much. As long as I do what I'm supposed to do, I'll succeed."
Callaway football coach Bennie Tillman says that the Tigers are getting a "real asset" in Smith.
"He probably has the strongest leg of any kicker I've been around in 30 years of coaching," Tillman says. "He's a gamer."
With his college football career ahead of him, Smith says he sees today's all-star game as his chance to end his soccer career on a high note.
"I want to be remembered as a good soccer player," he says.
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