Cultures came together in late August with the arrival of a foreign exchange student and a former standout collegiate football player. Both have reaped the benefits as Devils Lake prepares to tackle Fargo Shanley as the Firebirds seek the first state football title in school history.
Jim Marshall arrived in Devils Lake to assume the position as hospital administrator at Mercy Hospital, and brought with him a wealth of experience as a collegiate and semi-professional kicker — a skill he has been working to relay to a pair of kickers for the Firebirds.
For Joao Soares, who handles placekicking chores for the Firebirds, Marshall’s arrival has been a blessing, of sorts — both on and off the field.
“He’s been a great teacher,” Soares said of his new mentor and friend. “I’ve pretty much had to re-learn how to kick and he’s helped in getting me to understand the importance of getting my steps down correctly.”
Soares grew up playing soccer in Germany and insists, along with Marshall, the techniques used in both sports are vastly different.
“(Soares) is making the transition to a new sport and he’s playing in a new system,” Marshall said. “There’s obviously a difference in the shape of the ball and you have to kick them differently in order to make them do what you want them to do.”
For Soares, Marshall’s guidance has allowed him to become one of the most accurate kickers in the state, although he has yet to attempt a field goal this season.
“(Coach Jay Schneider) likes to go for it on fourth down,” Soares said, “he’s known for that, actually.”
“He’s done well,” said Marshall, of Soares. “He’s doing a better job of keeping his head down as the ball goes through the uprights, and he’s been getting some good distance.”
Soares said he has booted some 50 yarders during practice this season leading up to Saturday’s Class AA title game, where he just might get a chance — given the right circumstances — to kick from the carpeted floor of the Fargodome.
Marshall has also been working with Kole Jenson, who has handled the punting duties for Devils Lake this season. Jenson has punted 34 times this season and is averaging 31.6 yards per punt on the year.
For Marshall, kicking comes as second nature. Marshall, like Soares, grew up playing soccer as his main sport as a youngster in Blackfoot, Idaho.
He played two years of football at Snake River High School and helped his team to a 24-0 record during that time en route to a pair of Idaho state championships.
He earned a scholarship to play football at Ricks College, a Rexburg, Idaho-based school, that was long a junior college national power. The school today is known as Brigham Young University-Idaho.
A knee injury cut short his collegiate career, but recovered enough to play for the Madison Lions, a semiprofessional team from Idaho, for one year. He also set a couple of records while with the Lions, including a then-league record 52-yard field goal.
“I narrowly missed a 57-yarder,” Marshall recalled. “It ticked me off ... I barely missed it.”
“He definitely knows how to kick,” said Schneider of his new found volunteer, who has spent one day each week working with Jenson and Soares. “I think both players have benefitted in a big way from working with him.”
Marshall later served a Latter Day Saints (LDS) mission in southern Brazil as part of his collegiate studies.
“It was both a service and a teaching mission,” Marshall said. “I worked with a lot of great people in Brazil. It was a great experience to see how other cultures go about their daily lives. It made me really how we are so blessed living in the United States.”
While in Brazil, Marshall learned to speak Portugese, which Soares is also fluent in.
“We carry on some good conversations,” Soares said. “(Marshall’s) an interesting man. He’s always got some great stories.”
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Cultures came together in late August with the arrival of a foreign exchange student and a former standout collegiate football player. Both have reaped the benefits as Devils Lake prepares to tackle Fargo Shanley as the Firebirds seek the first state football title in school history.
Jim Marshall arrived in Devils Lake to assume the position as hospital administrator at Mercy Hospital, and brought with him a wealth of experience as a collegiate and semi-professional kicker — a skill he has been working to relay to a pair of kickers for the Firebirds.
For Joao Soares, who handles placekicking chores for the Firebirds, Marshall’s arrival has been a blessing, of sorts — both on and off the field.
“He’s been a great teacher,” Soares said of his new mentor and friend. “I’ve pretty much had to re-learn how to kick and he’s helped in getting me to understand the importance of getting my steps down correctly.”
Soares grew up playing soccer in Germany and insists, along with Marshall, the techniques used in both sports are vastly different.
“(Soares) is making the transition to a new sport and he’s playing in a new system,” Marshall said. “There’s obviously a difference in the shape of the ball and you have to kick them differently in order to make them do what you want them to do.”
For Soares, Marshall’s guidance has allowed him to become one of the most accurate kickers in the state, although he has yet to attempt a field goal this season.
“(Coach Jay Schneider) likes to go for it on fourth down,” Soares said, “he’s known for that, actually.”
“He’s done well,” said Marshall, of Soares. “He’s doing a better job of keeping his head down as the ball goes through the uprights, and he’s been getting some good distance.”
Soares said he has booted some 50 yarders during practice this season leading up to Saturday’s Class AA title game, where he just might get a chance — given the right circumstances — to kick from the carpeted floor of the Fargodome.
Marshall has also been working with Kole Jenson, who has handled the punting duties for Devils Lake this season. Jenson has punted 34 times this season and is averaging 31.6 yards per punt on the year.
For Marshall, kicking comes as second nature. Marshall, like Soares, grew up playing soccer as his main sport as a youngster in Blackfoot, Idaho.
He played two years of football at Snake River High School and helped his team to a 24-0 record during that time en route to a pair of Idaho state championships.
He earned a scholarship to play football at Ricks College, a Rexburg, Idaho-based school, that was long a junior college national power. The school today is known as Brigham Young University-Idaho.
A knee injury cut short his collegiate career, but recovered enough to play for the Madison Lions, a semiprofessional team from Idaho, for one year. He also set a couple of records while with the Lions, including a then-league record 52-yard field goal.
“I narrowly missed a 57-yarder,” Marshall recalled. “It ticked me off ... I barely missed it.”
“He definitely knows how to kick,” said Schneider of his new found volunteer, who has spent one day each week working with Jenson and Soares. “I think both players have benefitted in a big way from working with him.”
Marshall later served a Latter Day Saints (LDS) mission in southern Brazil as part of his collegiate studies.
“It was both a service and a teaching mission,” Marshall said. “I worked with a lot of great people in Brazil. It was a great experience to see how other cultures go about their daily lives. It made me really how we are so blessed living in the United States.”
While in Brazil, Marshall learned to speak Portugese, which Soares is also fluent in.
“We carry on some good conversations,” Soares said. “(Marshall’s) an interesting man. He’s always got some great stories.”
