KENNEBUNK — John Burns’ Kennebunk Rams’ soccer teammates consider him to be much more than just the starting goalie for the team. They consider him to be more like a master and commander. A gentleman and a scholar. Or they say he’s a key cog for a Kennebunk team with playoff aspirations.

Burns showed last season that he should be considered amongst the better goalies in Western Maine Class A, making saves in bunches and in big moments. This season shouldn’t be considered a sequel, but a bigger, better Burns.

“If you wrote down all the attributes you’d want out of a keeper, I think you’d be hard-pressed to come up with a package that would be much different than him,” said Kennebunk head coach Nate Bean. “He’s got the height, he’s got the size, he’s got the mobility. He reads the game well. So having a kid with that experience is fabulous. And when they’re a wonderful kid on top of it, it’s a real treat for a coach.”

Above being a talented goalie, Bean said he thinks the world of Burns as a person. He said he hopes that the younger players on the team follow the lead that he has set.

“If they can follow his example, they’re all going to be better off five years down the road as young men,” said Bean. “He’s a real, high-quality young man who has figured out a lot of the things that we’re trying to help kids learn on the field and in the classroom. It’s a pleasure to work with a kid like that.”

Everything Burns does, and everything Burns talks about, is focused on his team, and not him. With Burns, it’s not just that there’s no “I” in “team,” but there’s no “I” in “individual,” Bean said.

“One of the things that makes John special is that he understands that soccer is about a team, and all he really wants is to be part of a winning team, and he’s trying to do his best to be part of that,” said Bean.

Burns said that every time he plays, he’s not really focused on how he needs to play, but how he needs to help his team win.

“I strive to not only work to keep the ball out of the net, but work to keep my teammates together,” said Burns. “I’d say individually, my goals are to not only keep balls out of the net, but to help offensively. Because that is something I pride myself in and try to do.”

Burns has long had the mental make-up to be a good keeper, even before he had all the physical tools. At least according to a story he tells.

“One of my fondest memories about when I first started playing soccer was the first game, and how I may have let in 10 goals in one half, but I walked off the field and my coach said ”˜I have never heard someone talk that much on the field.’ I think that really sums up my character.”

Burns is one player who Bean said he doesn’t have to worry about going into a game. Conversely, opposing coaches should worry about the Kennebunk keeper, especially if Burns and company go as far as they want to and think they can go this season.

“He’s going to allow us to be in every game and to walk on the field against everybody and expect that we have an opportunity to win games,” said Bean. “Come playoff time, he’s quite capable of taking goals away. And in a playoff game, that might be the difference.”

— Contact Wil Kramlich at 282-1535, Ext. 323 or follow him on Twitter @WilTalkSports.