Soccer
Favorite athlete: Luka Modric
Favorite team: Arsenal F.C.
Favorite memory competing in sports: Winning the State Championship with my club team.
Most embarrassing/funniest thing that has happened while competing in sports: My teammate scored a bicycle kick own-goal. Honestly one of the best shots I’ve ever seen even if it was in our own net.
Music on playlist: Drake, 21 savage, Lil baby, Travis Scott, Lil Uzi Vert, Kendrick Lamar, Future, metro Boomin
Future plans: Attend college and major in engineering. Also, I wanna play college soccer.
Words to live by: “Work in silence.”
One goal before turning 30: Travel to Italy.
One thing people don’t know about me: I really like playing pickleball.
By Mary Jane Souder
Jackson Costello, according to his coach, can do it all on the soccer field.
“He can shut a player down,” Upper Moreland soccer coach Justin Allegra said. “If I’d say, ‘Hey, listen, I need you to shut this player down,’ he will do that. If I say, ‘I need a little bit more out of you in the midfield. I need you to take and distribute the ball,’ he’s got that, and he’s got a (heck) of a left foot. He’s got an incredible left-footed shot. So anywhere I put him - I don’t feel like I’m losing. I feel, if anything, I’m gaining.
While there’s no mistaking Costello is blessed with soccer skills, that’s just part of the equation. The Upper Moreland senior is one of just two seniors in the starting lineup of a Bears’ soccer team that - early in the season - lost three straight games and was outscored 17-1 in those games.
It would be understandable – and actually make perfect sense – if Costello would be frustrated. Especially since he had been part of the varsity as a swing player freshman year that won the District 1 3A title and advanced to the PIAA 3A state semifinals, and the Golden Bears were a district playoff team each of the previous three years he was part of the program.
That’s not the case. Far from it.
“The majority of the team doesn’t have a lot of varsity experience,” Costello said. “I’m mainly seeing this season – not focused only on winning but setting up the future generations and instilling a good work ethic in them.”
According to his coach, that’s not just lip service.
“He’s a quiet kid,” Allegra said. “The kid will do anything for the team, whether it’s playing forward, whether it’s playing midfield, whether it’s playing defense.
“Now he’s actually playing defense because that’s where we need him this year. He’s the kind of kid that will literally just do anything to help his team win. This year, he is our captain, so he leads by example.”
Costello doesn’t need to be in the spotlight. As a matter of fact, his favorite motto “Work in silence” suggests he doesn’t want it. When asked what exactly that meant, Costello had a ready explanation.
“I mean that I just have to keep my head down and keep working as hard as possible,” he said. “I don’t need to post on social media every time I work out or tell people about it. Winning is the reward and it will speak for itself.”
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Costello has been playing soccer since his mighty mites days. He also played basketball and baseball for several years but opted to give up those two in favor of soccer.
“My dad brought me up into soccer, and I just always took a liking to it,” he said. “When I was a baby, my dad always had me kicking the ball around and stuff. I always liked it.”
Costello initially played soccer for his township team, eventually moving to the club circuit where he played for the Philadelphia Ukrainian National 05/06 Academy team, which last season won the state title. The squad advanced to regionals but fell short of advancing to nationals.
As a freshman at Upper Moreland, Costello started the season playing jayvee but then was moved up to the swing team.
“I got to practice with the team that won the district championship,” Costello said. “It was really a surreal experience, especially watching (Infante) Matteo score the game-winning goal and rushing the field. It was just amazing.”
As a sophomore, Costello was a contributing member of the varsity, and he has been a fixture in the starting lineup as a junior and senior, this year a perfect fit as captain of the young squad.
“I’m just running captain’s practices on the weekends and giving my all in every practice and every game,” Costello said. “I did kind of have to break out of a shell at one point. Now it’s coming more naturally for me.”
Allegra relies on his captain to keep him apprised of the pulse of the team.
“I’ll meet with him once a week, and we talk about what he thinks is going on,” the UM coach said. “He takes the team’s temperature.
“I’ve noticed this year he’s taken on a little bit extra because in previous years we’ve had eight or 10 seniors on the team. This year we only have (four) so we’re an extremely young team. He’s the leader, he’s the captain, and he leads by example.”
Costello’s natural positions are left back or left wing, the positions he plays for club.
“I played center mid all last season, now I’m the center back,” he said. “As long as I can be on the field and play, I’m happy.”
Off the soccer pitch, Costello is an excellent student, boasting a GPA over 4.00 and carrying a workload that includes AP Calculus and AP Physics. He is a member of the National Honor Society and has given service hours to his aunt’s charity, the Superhero Project. According to its web site, the Superhero Project aids and encourages families in the NICU and provides assistance and resources to many hospitals in the greater Philadelphia area.
“It’s been really cool,” Costello said. “They give them baby supplies and all that, and it basically helps families figure out the whole situation.
“I mainly do a lot of packaging and helping my aunt set up.”
Next fall, Costello plans to pursue an engineering degree in possibly civil or mechanical engineering. As for soccer, he has been talking to several colleges, including Widener and Alvernia.
“I’m pretty sure I will play soccer,” he said. “I really want it to be a big part of my college experience.”
According to his coach, Costello is the consummate student-athlete.
“He’s very involved in the school, his grades are phenomenal,” said Allegra said. "He's a great kid."
