Chelsea Senior Jesse Jacobusse Jumps for a shot against Ypsilanti
Jesse Jacobusse’s Chelsea Bulldogs are falling behind against a Class A school. Time is winding down and the momentum has shifted. Jesse knows time is short and something needs to be done. So the petite 5 foot 4-inch senior guard dribbles coast to coast, cutting a lane through several defenders much larger than her, hits the basket and falls to the floor as she gets fouled hard. Jesse gets up unfazed and hits the free throw. She gets back on defense and is able to steal a pass and take the ball to the hole again giving her team the lead. Her Bulldogs end up winning the game and it’s just another night on the court as she is used to this. Because Jesse Jacobusse does not give up and she does not like to lose!
Jesse is a true competitor in everything she does. She credits that for being in competition with her twin brother Jake, who is older than her by only 3 minutes. Jake just won his 103-pound weight class in wrestling at districts for Chelsea.
“I’ve grown up with a twin brother which has given me the competitive edge that I have,” Jesse explains. “Other twins understand the competition of being twins and I think that helped us both to accomplish more than what we would have without each other. I don’t just not like losing, I hate it so much and that’s the kind of attitude that helps me get extra aggressive and scrappy in games. It’s not just the game I’m working to win. Every possession I want to win; be better than the opponent.”
Jesse has been playing sports since as long as she can remember. Up until high school, her favorite sport has always been soccer but now it’s definitely basketball for her. Jesse plays much larger on the court than most girls that stand a foot taller than her and she is not afraid to do anything for the team to help them out. Jesse still plays soccer once scoring 5 goals in a game last season. She also excels at cross country and track where she has gone to states to represent Chelsea in both sports. She has made her name known as she is in the Chelsea record books.
In all 4 of the sports Jesse plays yearly she excels at every one of them yet she is very humble and down to Earth, and a bit quiet and shy. When she’s not playing sports she is hitting the books where she excels also, being a member of the National Honor Society and she is on student council.
Jesse is definitely not your average teenager as when she does get some free time she enjoys spending it, well, playing sports and working out.
“For me sports are everything,” Jesse stated. “I don’t have much spare time but this summer I found myself with a lot of time so my best friend, Briana Hay, and I practiced all of our sports every day. We ran, lifted, shot basketballs, and went out to the soccer field and practiced. It’s something we love to do so it’s not just the sports that we play, it’s our hobby, and what we fill our spare time with.”
Jesse is one of 4 seniors on a very young Chelsea basketball team this season. But she feels as a senior she doesn’t need to be a leader with her words, she leads with her actions.
“As a senior, I don’t necessarily feel the need to lead but I find that just working hard and setting a positive example is all I need to do to be a leader,” says Jesse
Jesse has the respect of all her teammates and classmates and also the respect of many of the teams she faces. In basketball, they always try to double team her and try to take her off her game. But it seldom works.
She also has the respect of her head coach Todd Blomquist who has been coaching Chelsea girls basketball for 18 years.
“Jesse is one of the better on-ball defenders that I’ve ever coached,” Blomquist proudly stated.
Jesse will be taking her 17 letters in sports and academics and will be leaving in the fall for Houghton where she will be attending Michigan Technological University where she will study Biomedical Engineering as well as playing on their soccer team and running track for the Huskies.
“Because I’ll be playing my other two sports, one thing I will miss the most after high school is basketball and the other thing is all the friends I’ll be leaving when I am so far away,” Jesse sadly stated.
But before she goes she has business to attend to with her Chelsea basketball team as they try to make a big run in the districts. And then in the spring, she will be leading her track team with her running skills and her exceptional soccer abilities on the field to help lead her Chelsea team.
Jesse is the daughter of Robb and Betsy Jacobusse, and besides her twin brother Jake, she has two older brothers, Tom and Mason, and younger sister Grace who plays on the Chelsea freshman team.
.
.
southeast michigan sports 