Natchez High senior Jeremy Buckles is more than just an impact player on the soccer field and the track.

He is also making a difference in the community as a member of the Mississippi National Guard.

“I got started playing soccer because my friends were playing and I decided to,” he said.

“I joined the National Guard because of the same friends that got me to play soccer.”

On the soccer field, Buckles is usually found wearing a neon green jersey and blocking shots as the goalie, but he said he also plays the forward position as well. He said he prefers playing forward over the goalie position because it allows him to the thing he loves most, which is run.

His love for running has also led him into another athletic realm of competition: track and field. Buckles said he competes in sprints jumps and hurdles.

Strong performances in both sports earned Buckles MVP honors in soccer and track last season, as well as the outstanding performance award in both sports. He also earned all-district honors in soccer last season as a junior.

“On the field Jeremy is an intense emotional player,” Natchez head coach Dennis Hogue said. “ He is a clutch player, and you know you can always count on him.”

Off the field, Buckles keeps himself busy as the vice-president of the Sigma Beta Club in Natchez, and has also been a member of the Mississippi National Guard for five months.

He likes the National Guard because of the benefits and training it provides, and the discipline, pride in country and leadership the Guard teaches.

A career in the military has crossed his mind, but right now it is just a maybe.

After he graduates from Natchez High in May, he plans to attend the University of Southern Mississippi, and major in history or psychology.

He chose Southern Miss because he liked the campus, which he visited during a track meet.

He is thinking about majoring in psychology because it is a subject that he finds interesting.

“I get something out of picking at people’s heads.”

Buckles said history is also a subject he has always liked. He said his U.S. History teacher, Cressida Crawford, is a big influence in his love for the subject, and that history has always been a subject that was easy for him to learn.

Buckles proved this last year when he scored the highest grade in his class on the state history test.

“I expect big things from him. The best is yet to come,” Hogue said. “He is an incredible athlete and a difference maker in whatever he does.”