For the past 14 years, John Ellis Montgomery has gone around the country and even the world to play soccer.
Weekends were spent on the pitch. Weeknights on the practice field. In between, he got caught up on schoolwork.

“We would be driving back from Jackson at 11 o’clock at night and he’s doing homework in the car,” his mother, Speler Montgomery, said.

The long road eventually led to Wesson, Mississippi, where John Ellis will put a few more miles under his cleats. The St. Aloysius senior has signed to play soccer for Copiah-Lincoln Community College, marking the next step in a long journey.

“I thank my coaches and all my teammates for getting me where I am. And especially my parents for bringing me to all my practices, sacrificing their work days to come get me out of school and to come to games, and all the long trips and everything,” Montgomery said.

Montgomery was an MAIS all-star in football as a kicker, but his main passion has always been soccer. He’s played for St. Aloysius’ varsity high school team for six years and started for five.

Montgomery totaled 42 goals and 33 assists in his high school career while mostly playing in the midfield. He was also selected to the MAIS soccer all-star game, although he wasn’t able to play because of an ankle injury that also caused him to miss the last four games of the season.

“It was heartbreaking not being able to play my last couple of games and miss senior night. But I was still rooting for all my teammates and wishing the best for them,” Montgomery said.

He’s also played for the Mississippi Rush club team since he was 9, which eventually led him to Co-Lin. The Rush’s coach, Tom Cosgrave, also is the head coach of Co-Lin’s men’s team. Taking a college offer from a coach he’s known for years was an easy decision, Montgomery said.

“I just liked all the coaches there, and I thought it was the best place I could have gone to play soccer. I’m pretty excited. I think it’ll benefit me in the future,” Montgomery said. “I’m glad he thought of me that way and decided to pick me. It means a lot, coming from him especially.”

Montgomery’s time with the Rush has taken him around the world through soccer. The Jackson-based team has played high-level tournaments in a half-dozen states. It also did a tour of England in 2023 that included a training session with Manchester City of the English Premier League and two games against the academy teams from other EPL clubs.

At the same time, he’s been a standout beyond the soccer field. He has a weighted 4.1 GPA, is a member of the National Honor Society and Mu Alpha Theta, and has gone on mission trips with his youth group at First Presbyterian Church, among other volunteer work.

It’s been a long road, he said, but worth every mile.

“I’m glad my parents put me through all those things, and my coaches got me up here where I am,” he said. “I’ve always enjoyed it. It’s always been great to come back during the high school season after a long break and get to play again. At points it’s been a little bit of a grind, but it’s always been worth it because I’ve always had fun with it.”