From his desk on the fourth floor of Providence Park, Jack Jewsbury can survey the expansive field where he spent six years pushing himself to his athletic limits competing for the Portland Timbers.

When he has a free moment, he will sometimes watch the Portland Thorns train on the pitch below. It's a way for him to continue to feel connected to the game.

"It has made the transition a little bit easier," Jewsbury said. "I'm not separated from the stadium. I'm not separated from the sport. I'm still able to see people playing daily on the field."

Jewsbury, 36, made the difficult decision to retire from professional soccer at the end of last season after more than 300 appearances during a remarkable 14-year MLS career with both Sporting Kansas City and the Timbers. In his six seasons in Portland, Jewsbury earned his place in Timbers history as Portland's first MLS captain - to this day still fondly known as "Captain Jack" - and first MLS All-Star.

While he's no longer on the field, Jewsbury, who graduated from St. Louis University with degrees in business and marketing, has devoted the last six months to writing a new chapter in his career as the Timbers director of business development. He is one of three former Timbers players -- along with Nat Borchers and Ned Grabavoy -- that have taken on new roles with the club this year after retiring at the end of 2016.

"The more and more I was involved in (soccer) and the more years that I played, it became pretty clear to me that I wanted to stay in the sport in some capacity," Jewsbury said. "Marrying those two things - business and soccer - seemed to make the most sense."

Jewsbury has thrown himself head first into his new role with the club. He has helped to bring in new sponsorship partners, served as a club ambassador in the community and worked to organize the Stand Together Open, a charity golf tournament that the club is hosting at the end of July.

In fact, the first time that Jewsbury kicked a soccer ball since his retirement was just last week when he competed in Steve Zakuani's charity soccer game in Seattle. Timbers coach Caleb Porter said that Jewsbury has an open invitation to jump into training if he feels up to it, but the former Timbers mainstay has yet to find the spare time to take Porter up on the offer.

"I'm disappointed he hasn't taken us up on it," Porter joked. "I think he's focused on the next chapter in his career and in his life. Credit to him. He's locked in on his new job and trying to get that going."

While Jewsbury has been dedicated to his new role, the new position has also given him flexibility that he never had as a player.

During his 14-year career, Jewsbury's weeks in season would revolve around a soccer game on the weekend. Now, Jewsbury can spend weekends with his wife, Brittany, and two daughters, Aubrey and Taylor. After missing every single one of Taylor's soccer games last season, Jewsbury has routinely watched both his daughters play this year. He is even thinking of taking on a bigger role coaching the two girls in the future.

The Jewsburys also managed to plan an extended summer vacation as they visited family in Missouri for a week and Jewsbury found himself lounging by his parents' pool for the first time in 14 years.

"Little things like that are nice," Jewsbury said.

But while Jewsbury is enjoying his new career, he admitted that the transition has been tough at times.

Jewsbury has attended every Timbers home game and often finds himself standing on the field in his business attire before matches, watching intently as the club warms up. During the first few games this year, his former teammates would come over to the sideline to say hello and there was a part of Jewsbury that wanted nothing more than to run back onto the field and join his team.

"It was really hard disconnecting myself from the team and from the locker room," Jewsbury said. "I wouldn't say I miss trainings and preseasons a ton, but I miss the locker room and being around the guys and the banter that happens there and then of course game days and the excitement that's around it when you're playing. I'm starting to get used to it, but I would definitely say the first few games were a struggle."

Still, Jewsbury feels like he stepped away from the game at the appropriate time and that has helped ease his transition.

While Jewsbury made 17 starts in 2016 and could have likely continued playing for a few more years, he accomplished a major career goal by winning MLS Cup with the Timbers in 2015 and was able to hang up his boots on his own terms.

"Being able to still be a big part of that team in 2016 and get quite a few minutes and be in the lineup for my last game at home, for me, that was really important," Jewsbury said. "As much as maybe I do miss certain parts about it, I'm totally at peace with the decision to retire."

At a recent Timbers game, Jewsbury paced the concourse and took in the atmosphere from a perspective that he never had a chance to experience as a player.

While the urge to compete may never completely be extinguished, he is thoroughly enjoying the opportunity to take on a new challenge and continue to contribute to the game he loves.

"I think we all knew there was going to be a little bit of a learning curve in this first year and there definitely has been," Jewsbury said. "But I finally feel after six months now that I'm finding my stride."

-- Jamie Goldberg | jgoldberg@oregonian.com

503-853-3761 | @jamiebgoldberg