El Cajon — Soccer caused Jacob Jackson to hopscotch from Salt Lake City to New England and San Jose.

Then it took him home.

Smothering shots as a professional goalkeeper, now with expansion San Diego FC, brought him back to Escondido, where he was born and attended elementary school.

Jackson boomeranged back to Rancho Bernardo, where he began high school. He’s within driving distance of San Diego Surf and the San Diego Soccer Club that jump-started his path.

It delivered him somewhere else: To his old backyard and the benefits of a returning son, who got to hand-pick his welcome-home meal.

“Yep, burgers on the Blackstone,” Jackson said. “I get to go home every day to my mom and dad and annoy them a little bit. Try to give some terror back to them for what they missed in high school (when I left early for Salt Lake).

“It’s been great.”

Professional sports rarely offer athletes a chance to return to their old stomping grounds. The universe is stingy about lining up the dominoes that reconnect a person to their heartwarming past.

Mix in an expansion franchise in Major League Soccer and the odds spike.

“It’s been an interesting ride, but thankfully it led me back here, it led me back home,” Jackson said.

When Jackson was a kid, he tried boogie board and skimboarding, but “wasn’t the best at it.” Then came dirt bikes and other ways to burn off the energy away from the shoreline.

“Basically causing as much as havoc as I could in the neighborhood,” he said.

Then he landed with the San Diego Surf and everything changed.

“They really took care of me,” he said. “I was lucky enough to make the Surf academy team, then the academy at Real Salt Lake. That Surf group started my career.”

For Jackson, the homecoming is about a bigger picture rather than an immediate on-pitch impact.

San Diego FC acquired planned starter CJ dos Santos from Lionel Messi’s club Inter Miami CF. Then came Pablo Sisniega, a free agent who previously played with Charlotte FC.

Jackson understands the job.

“I’ve got to support CJ as much as I can,” said Jackson, 24. “He’s a very good goalie. Support Pablo. He’s a very good goalie. That’s my role. And to bring competition.

“Fight every day for the position, so when the coaches meet, they’re trying to make the hard choices.”

San Diego FC manager Mikey Varas said Jackson owns unique standing in his mind.

“I believe that we have the best third goalkeeper in the league in terms of him having league experience,” Varas said. “Jacob, if he needs to play tomorrow, it’s not his first minutes. And listen, crazy things happen in the football world with injuries, international call-ups and suspensions.

“We want three goalkeepers who can play at the MLS level and help us win. That’s a luxury I don’t think most teams in the league have.”

Club sporting director Tyler Heaps and goalkeeper coach Jason Grubb have been impressed with Jackson’s hit-the-ground-running arrival.

And approach.

“It’s been awesome to see him come in smiling every day,” Heaps said. “I asked him how he’s liking it and he said, ‘I’m living back home, bugging my mom again.’ He’s been fantastic.

“Jason said he has a great work ethic.”

They’re not alone.

“He’s a top human being,” Varas said. “First and foremost, he trains like a beast. On top of that, he has talent. That’s all you ask for as a coach.”

Jackson said he learned about being a professional from his brother Alex, a first-round pick of baseball’s Seattle Mariners who played in 58 games last year for the Tampa Bay Rays. He’s now a catcher in the Yankees organization.

The biggest takeaways?

“Just to keep staying humble and work hard,” Jackson said. “If you don’t show up to work, someone else is trying to take your spot. And always smile and enjoy the moment because eventually it’ll be gone.”

Jackson started down his professional road when he was picked 24th overall by New England in the 2022 MLS SuperDraft. San Jose, where he made three appearances, later claimed him on waivers.

Then came a shot at home.

As a first-year club, everything’s new. There’s no history. No baggage. Just a clean canvas, waiting for brushstrokes.

“It’s a pride thing, being from San Diego, to see this,” Jackson said. “Growing up, we had the Padres, the Chargers and now we have another professional team here.

“It’s a good group. We could do something special the first year. I truly believe that. To be a part of it is amazing.”

Originally Published: January 29, 2025 at 2:00 PM PST