‘Coach Jones’ Returns to the Pitch Fifth-Year Senior and Guitar Virtuoso Hopes to Bring Cal Back to Prominence
By Dean Caparaz ’90
Cal gets some of its groove back this fall when Ted Jones returns to don the Blue and Gold.
Last year, Jones watched as the young Golden Bears stumbled in their inaugural Pac-12 season. Coming off a conference championship campaign and NCAA Tournament quarterfinal run in 2010, the squad – decimated after seven players moved on to the professional ranks – produced a 3-9-5 record in 2011. Ted Jones Jones redshirted what would have been his last year at Cal; he returns as a fifth-year senior this season. What did the Bears miss without Jones? A lot. Jones is a versatile player, one of the four remaining starters from that talented 2010 team that came within a penaltykick shootout – against eventual national champion Akron – of reaching the NCAA College Cup. Besides his crunching tackles, 30
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Jones’ experience would have proven invaluable last fall, as he would have been the only senior on a team that featured 10 true freshmen. Conversely, this year’s roster lists six seniors – Jones, Steve Birnbaum, Tony Salciccia, John Fitzpatrick, Mike Munoz and Kyle Lunt – and just one freshman – midfielder Mason Case. As one of the veterans, Jones was a natural choice for co-captain, along with Birnbaum and Salciccia. “His experience right from the get-go is huge,” head coach Kevin Grimes said. “What he presents to the team is that he’s a fifthyear senior and the fact he’s had so much experience as a player, and obviously he’s an outstanding player. His level of leadership and ability to move the group in positive ways is something you can’t teach. You have to have that, and he has that.” The second-oldest player on the team, Jones turned 22 on May 22. He has started 33 of the 47 games he has played in at Cal, including 14 of 16 during the heydays of 2010. A Tiburon, Calif., product who now call Los Angeles home, Continued on page 33