Jonathan Perez Leads Brooks County Soccer to Best Season in Years

Written by: Phil Jones

Photography by: Sean Perry

Brooks County soccer standout Jonathan Perez lets his feet do all the talking when he’s on the pitch, and it's his performance that gets the full attention of his teammates and opponents, according to his head coach.

Tom Thomas said. “He’s

Special is a good way of describing the senior left winger. Perez was one of several Brooks County soccer players selected as All-Region, but there was one honor reserved for only him: Region 1A-D1 Offensive Player of the Year. In Brooks County’s 17 games, Perez scored 25 goals and had 8 assists to lead his team to its most wins in a decade. The Trojans’ successful season came to an end in the second round of the Georgia high school state playoffs.

Thomas, who wrapped up his second season as the Brooks County soccer coach, said even the most talented players need direction, and he felt that was the case with Perez.

“When I first arrived at Brooks, the players seemed to need more of a team strategy, and that included Jonathan,” Thomas said. “He was the type of player that wanted to just grab the ball, take it down the field, and try to score a goal. It would take almost the entire season for Perez to really buy in and trust playing within a system, as well as trusting his teammates.”

Giving up control of the ball would be something new to Perez. Such a change can be tough for a player who has one goal in mind: to just score goals.

“Jonathan had to realize that he could give up the ball to his teammates, and trust that he’d get the ball back,” Thomas said.

During the offseason, Perez really dedicated himself and bought into the team’s new method of distributing the ball. It worked.

“This season, Jonathan was our number one player on drills, he was our number one communicator, talking to the team, and that dedication rubbed off on his Trojan teammates,” Thomas said.

The team as a whole improved from just four wins two seasons ago to an 8-5 finish last season. Then, with Perez armed with a new style of play, the results this year not only paid off for him, but for the entire Brooks County soccer team. They finished 11-4-2 overall in GHSA soccer competition, including 2-2 in their region. Despite dropping their final two regular-season games to eventual region champ Bacon County, the Trojans and Perez bounced back with a 6-1 victory over Jefferson County in the opening round of the state playoffs. Their season ended with a second-round playoff loss to Lamar County by a point, 3-2.

Perez was a big reason for the team’s success. His improvement from the prior season led to his team’s improved play.

“Jonathan really jump-started the season for the team,” Thomas said.