Carmel United's Oldham perseveres to excel

From www.topdrawersoccer.com
http://www.topdrawersoccer.com/component/option,com_topdrawer/Itemid,251/sid,16/nid,2880/

Written by Robert Ziegler

April 04, 2008

Austin Oldham has been on fire lately.

That may be in part because he has been going through the fire for the past 3 years.

The mercurial Carmel United forward has really hit his stride in the last few months, scoring 9 goals in the U.S. Soccer Federation’s Academy League since the season began earlier this year. A 5-goal performance over 2 games in Virginia last month got the attention of lot of observers in the coaching and scouting community, as did an especially good performance at the USSF Winter Showcase in Frisco, Texas against the Colorado Rapids.

While previously making U.S. Youth Soccer Regional ODP teams would indicate that the player isn’t exactly coming out of nowhere, he is definitely hitting a rich vein of form to confirm the previous expectations of onlookers. His coach at the Indianapolis-area club Carmel United’s U16 Academy team, David Costa, says Austin is taking his place among the brightest prospects in the nation.

“He’s right there with any high-level Division 1 caliber player,” he said. “He has very quick feet, has a great speed of play, great pace and can strike the ball with power with either foot. He’s that type of player.”

There’s also a quiet confidence and a politeness that tends to endear Oldham to players and coaches. This would seem to have been refined by some difficult circumstances over the past few years.

Austin’s mother Cheryl was diagnosed with cancer in spring of 2006. She has undergone 5 major surgeries since, even as doctors confirmed the disease had spread to the lymph nodes. The cancer is not in remission, but extensive drug treatments lead doctors to somewhat cold pronouncements about percentages of chances to live certain numbers of years. Cheryl remains very actively supportive of Austin’s efforts along with her many other duties as a wife and mother of 4. She home educates Austin and his younger brother.

Last September, Austin lost his grandmother to lung cancer.

“She lived with us for 7 years. She was like another parent,” Austin recalls. “I was really close to her.”

Another real-life issue for the family is Austin’s older brother Ian having been deployed recently with the military to Iraq. It all seems like a lot for even a mature 16-year old, but the player’s attitude is one of faithful perseverance. He cites his Christian faith as a big part of his mindset.

“God has helped me a lot. Being a Christian helps me focus through all of that,” he said. “Soccer has helped me a lot too. It gives me something else to think about.”

While these events have served to accelerate his maturity, they understandably have posed some challenges as well. By his own admission, Austin’s performance at the 2006 Thanksgiving Interregional was not his best, but Cheryl notes how the player had spent nearly every day for months prior to that helping attend to her needs as she went through chemotherapy and operations, which at times left her bedridden. Similarly his grandmother’s illness occupied much of his time and thoughts prior to major competitions and identification events. This should serve as a stark reminder to those of us evaluating young players on a point-in-time “snapshot” basis.
 
David Costa, also an assistant at Butler, said Austin’s attitude is as impressive as his considerable soccer skills.

“He’s a tremendous kid with great character. He’s all about the team, one of the most selfless players I’ve ever coached. He’s always looking to incorporate other guys,” he said. “At Disney (in December) he was always laying the ball off and I had to talk to him about taking the risk at the finish. I told him I’d rather he get a shot off in a lot of those situations. You want him to be a little more selfish in that role.”

A personal recollection from this author of Austin’s character come from a weekly pickup-game gathering of home-educated teenage boys on the southside of Indianapolis, most with no formal playing experience and certainly nothing like the elite competitions Austin is involved in with in club soccer. Still, Austin showed up and made a priority not out of making a farce of the game, which he could have, but in involving his friends and all of the other players in the action, teaching as he went and basically being one of the boys over the course of the day.  Costa indicates the player fits in, in the same way on his Carmel United team, and also noted that Austin’s skill set brings an extra tactical dynamic for his squad.

“Because of his abilities he allows you to play a couple of different ways,” he said.

This Carmel team, by the way, is beginning to look rather promising. Other standouts include U18 Men’s National Team return callup Harrison Petts and Region II regular A.J. Corrado, along with a talented squad.

Austin has played with a number of teams through the years. One of his rec teams was coached by Chris Kitchen, father of fellow Indianapolis-area product and now U17 Men’s National Team stalwart Perry Kitchen. He credits Hoosier FC director of coaching Mario Castello with playing a big role in developing his technical base, while learning about tactics from FC Pride coach Carlos Zavaleta and his current coach at Carmel, David Costa.

“I’ve taken different things from different clubs and coaches,” he said. “I played up a lot when I was younger. That helped me learn to play faster and to see things ahead of time.”

Like many top players, Austin also cites watching a lot of high-level players as having been helpful. A current favorite is Liverpool’s Spanish superstar Fernando Torres.

“They play a 4-2-3-1 just like we do, and I love to watch him play that role,” he said. “Before I also liked to watch (now-retired French midfielder) Zinedine Zidane, just for the way he would see things and create things. I learn a lot from watching them.”

According to Cheryl Oldham, Austin may have been honing his soccer skills even while in her womb.

“He just kicked all the time, much more than my other 3,” she said. “I remember telling my mom, ‘This baby kicks almost all the time,’ and she said I was exaggerating, but he would give me about a 4-hour break, from 2 to 6 a.m. and that was it. I was just exhausted with him. After he came out, sure enough he was going all the time.”

Cheryl’s earliest memory of Austin with a soccer ball is when he was about 2 and accompanying the family to Ian’s recreational games.

“We would be watching his older brother playing and he would take off and start dribbling. People would ask how old is he and when we would tell them ‘2’ they would always say ‘No way!’”

Now at 16, Austin Oldham is beginning to attract special attention anew, but the player’s success has definitely not come without support, dedication and trial.