MOUNT VERNON — Mount Vernon freshman Ethan Eggerton is making a significant impact on the soccer pitch beyond his high school field.
The Yellow Jackets’ 15-year-old is a key member of Sporting Columbus Under 16 Soccer Club. The club won the NL PRO winter competition in Arizona, which qualified it for the national championship in Utah in July.
“The physical part is pretty easy for me, but just staying disciplined in my workouts, being disciplined and getting to practice, being disciplined in everything I do,” Eggerton said of the key to his success.
“I just feel like soccer is a mentally challenging sport.”
The Central Ohio team hoisted the championship trophy just one week before Dennis Eggerton’s birthday. Dennis and Genelle are Ethan’s grandparents and have played a key role in his success.
“My husband (Tyler) and I had to work, so they (the grandparents) were willing to take him out there,” explained Ethan’s mother, Kayleigh.
Michael Lawrence, head coach for Sporting Columbus, said that Eggerton has been a valuable addition to his team.
“He actually played an integral part in us qualifying for the national championship,” Lawrence said. “He is a very versatile player and arguably played the most minutes of the three games we had.”
Time and hard work pay off
In such high-level competition, a national championship is on every participant’s mind.
“It is something that every team is trying to qualify for,” Lawrence said. “I have been coaching for 30 years, and have been there twice before. This will only be my third trip in three decades of coaching.”
Ethan began his love affair with soccer on a sandlot.
“In the fifth grade, I was playing with a couple of buddies of mine at Twin Oak Elementary School. I decided to pick it up, and I loved it,” Eggerton said.
He began to believe he had some talent when his shots began finding the back of the net.
“I started getting put up front and started to score goals with my old club in Mount Vernon,” he said. “It was probably my third year, and I started getting pretty decent because I had put in a lot of time and hard work.”
Eggerton also believes he draws inspiration from a higher power.
“I just want to thank my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ because he has given me the talent to get to the level where I am,” he said.
Soccer wasn’t a sport the family knew a lot about.
“To be honest, I am not a big sports person. He said he wanted to play soccer, and I told him to give it a try,” Kayleigh said. “He would come home and tell me what he had done, and I would say, ‘Oh, cool, what does that mean?’ and he would explain it to me.
“He is a good teacher.”
Family support in Utah
Given that Ethan is one of five children, the family is planning ahead to keep up with his athletic exploits.
“We are hoping to make the trip to the national championship in Utah a family vacation,” his mom said.
Call it mother’s intuition, maternal instinct, or a hidden crystal ball, but Eggerton’s mother said she has seen talent in her son for many years.
“I’ve been telling Ethan since he was very young that he was going to do something really big,” Kayleigh said.
A national championship could well be described as something “big.”
The boys 16U-19U (under) is set for July 13 to 20 in Salt Lake City, Utah.