Ramona High’s James Knowd likes sports — a lot.
So much so, he never stops playing and its that if he had a chance, he’d most likely add another sport, track, to the three that already fill up the Bulldog’s calendar.
Football in the fall, soccer in the winter and baseball in the spring leave little time for anything else but studying and maybe slipping away to surf. Football fills up the summer.
Three-sport athletes are rare.
“I like to stay busy,” said the 17-year-old junior, “it would feel weird not to play. Even during COVID, I still practiced with the baseball team.”
Asked which sport he likes best, after a lengthy pause he says probably baseball, but inquiring which sport he might he have the best chance to make a career, the answer is football.
Although the 5-11, 145-pounder plays wide receiver on offense and defensive back on defense, it’s his kicking that is attracting the most attention after he boomed a 45-yard field goal in a game and says he has connected from 55 yards in practice.
He earned All-Palomar League Kicker of the Year honors by converting 21 of 23 extra points and five of six field goals. He sent 19 kickoffs flying into the end zone.
He’s hoping to bulk up to 175-pounds by the time he graduates, potentially adding more distance to his kicks.
“It’s hard gaining weight because I’m always playing a sport — and I’m still growing,” said Knowd, whose father is 6-3. “But kicking in the NFL is The Dream.
“I attended a two-day John Carney kicking camp and it was a great experience. We kicked eight hours a day and there were about 40 of us. I’d say I was on the higher end.
“What really impressed me was talking a lot about the mental aspect of kicking. When I watch the NFL, I can almost feel the pressure those kickers are going through — I can relate.”
Knowd says he prefers to kick off the ground without the aid of a tee.
“It’s my soccer background, I guess,” said Knowd, noting that in college no tee is allowed anyway. “I really don’t feel any pressure when I kick and for the rest of the team watching, I’m their entertainment.
“Coach Baldwin would rather not kick a field goal anyway and I’d prefer to catch a TD than kick a field goal. But I’d like to try a long field goal and maybe for the first time win a game. I it that on the weekends, when a have a few extra minutes, I go out and practice kicking, so I guess that shows where my interest is.”
Mind you, Ramona will need to replace holder Matt Parker and center Caleb Peterson, so Knowd will be starting from scratch. But he’s confident whoever steps in will work well.
But he is still focused on being the best soccer and baseball player he can be.
After scoring 10 goals on the junior varsity a year ago, the right-wing striker has two this season with three assists on a varsity team that started the week 6-5-1 heading into Valley League play.
Coach Mike Jordan, now in his 24th season as the boys coach, says Knowd has fit right in, which isn’t surprising.
“He’s the youngest of five siblings to play at Ramona,” Jordan said. “The thing you notice right away is his competitiveness. He’s taken a big leap from last year, he’s way ahead of the curve.
“He was very eager to start this year. I think being the youngest of five allowed him to soak up the experience of his brothers and sisters.”
Knowd agrees.
“They picked on me a lot,” he said of his siblings, “but they were also there to protect me if I needed it. I think handling it when they did pick on me make me mature a lot quicker.”
Two of his sisters attend Chaminade University in Hawaii and Knowd says he would like nothing better than to go to the University of Hawaii.
Knowd, who carries a 4.2 GPA, is taking three AP classes — calculus on campus and two online. COVID didn’t faze him because at the time he was home-schooled.
If he continues to play at the level he has in the past two years, he might be going to Hawaii to play baseball. He battled .375 as the leadoff batter while playing full-time in centerfield. Because I play other sports, I’m not on a traveling team like I used to be,” he said. “I miss the travel and the tournaments.
“But I have no trouble keeping busy.”
Indeed.
