Ludwig's Dedication to High School Pitch Energizes Clarkston's Title Pursuit

By Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com

September 15, 2022

CLARKSTON – It would be a bit much to say they have been full-scale recruiting pitches for Clarkston senior Richie Ludwig, but let’s just say there have been strong nudges each time the high school soccer season has rolled around.

Greater DetroitBefore each season, Ludwig has gotten some minor overtures from coaches at various academies trying to lure him to their organizations and away from high school soccer. 

And these aren’t some low-key academies, as several are affiliated with Major League Soccer organizations. 

“I usually get a text or two and calls from a couple of different coaches,” he said.

The coaches essentially are saying, “Hey, if you happen to change your mind about that high school thing, you know where to reach us.”

Each time, Ludwig has essentially responded saying, “Thanks, but no thanks.” 

You certainly can’t blame the academies for trying. 

A wondrously skilled and fast player, Ludwig should be on the short list of Mr. Soccer Award candidates this year, if not the favorite. 

Entering Tuesday he had 13 goals and nine assists already this season, and he’ll play next for Michigan State. 

But the fact he’s in the midst of his fourth year of high school soccer is news in itself, given his talents. 

Besides just loving high school soccer and playing with his friends, there are two other reasons why Ludwig has shunned prominent academies.

One, he plays on a club team, Nationals Soccer Union based out of Shelby Township — where one of the coaches is his dad, Rich — that has traveled the country to tournaments and events.

“Really, I’ve gotten all the scouting and recruitment needed at my club nationals,” Ludwig said.

Second, Clarkston plays in what annually is one of the state’s best leagues, the Oakland Activities Association Red, where nightly there are games against other prominent club standouts, future college players and state-ranked teams. 

It’s not like he’s missing out on developmental opportunities in high school.

“What I get out of high school is a good social environment while also getting to compete with a couple of my buddies,” Ludwig said. “Even though it may not be at a level as high as a club team is playing at, I can still push myself to be able to play at the standards I want to play at the next level.” 

Ludwig primarily plays as an attacking midfielder or a center forward, and while he is a natural goal scorer, Clarkston head coach Ian Jones said he’s a creator wherever he is on the field. 

Even if he is assigned to be in the middle of the field, Ludwig will go wide to create numerous scoring opportunities. 

“He almost creates more opportunities by not being involved,” Jones said. “He finds spaces. He creates space for other people, so his understanding of how to create space not just for himself, but other people, is the biggest improvement I’ve seen. He just has a knack of seeing things before they evolve.” 

Ludwig said he has worn a Spartans jersey “ever since I came out of the womb.”

“I’ve always wanted to go there,” he added.

Before that though, he hopes to leave high school by making history for Clarkston.

This year marks 15 years since the best team in Clarkston history made a run to its only MHSAA Finals in 2007, where the Wolves lost in the Division 1 championship match to East Kentwood.

Ludwig said he and other players have turned into historians a bit this year, studying up on that team and hoping to go one step farther so they can lay claim to being the best in school history.

“Our coaches have talked to us about some of those things they did,” Ludwig said. “The little things off of the field even. They have just told us the little things we need to pick up on to make that run.”

If a run at a Finals title doesn’t happen, Ludwig won’t have any regrets about sticking with high school for all four years given the memories he’s made and what he’s accomplished.

But if the Wolves do contend, it’ll make turning down those small overtures from academies worth celebrating more than all the goals he has scored combined.

“He’s a pretty loyal boy,” Jones said. "I think he has the ambition to do something in high school that hasn’t been done before.”

Keith DunlapKeith Dunlap has served in Detroit-area sports media for more than two decades, including as a sportswriter at the Oakland Press from 2001-16 primarily covering high school sports but also college and professional teams. His bylines also have appeared in USA Today, the Washington Post, the Detroit Free Press, the Houston Chronicle and the Boston Globe. He served as the administrator for the Oakland Activities Association’s website from 2017-2020. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties.

PHOTOS Clarkston’s Richie Ludwig (10), an all-state Dream Team selection last season, is a likely contender for the Mr. Soccer Award this fall. (Photos courtesy of Richie Ludwig.)

Seniors Lead Midland Calvary Baptist's Rise from MHSAA Debut to District Championship

By Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com

October 26, 2022

James Day wasn’t surprised by how quickly his Midland Calvary Baptist boys soccer team was competing for postseason titles.

Bay & ThumbBut when the Kings won their first District title recently, in just their fourth MHSAA postseason, he did feel they had proved something to those outside the program.

“I think to a certain level, yes, (we had to prove) that we can actually win the title, that District title,” the Calvary Baptist coach said. “I think, too, it was so exciting because there are several players that have played in virtually all of (the program’s postseason) games.”

Led by its five seniors, Calvary Baptist defeated Saginaw Valley Lutheran 2-1 on Oct. 21 to win that Division 4 District title. It came after the team had advanced to the District Final in each of its previous three tries.

After seeing plenty of success in the Michigan Association of Christian Schools, the Kings made the leap to the MHSAA and participated in their first postseason in 2019. That year, they lost to Roscommon 1-0 in the District Final. They fell to Bad Axe in the District Final each of the next two seasons.

“The first three years, we’d been super close,” senior midfielder Charley Tomko said. “The last two years we lost to Bad Axe in the District championship, and going into this year, my goal was to win a District championship. We didn’t beat Bad Axe in the championship game, but we beat a really solid team to win it. Going into the season, this was my goal – this was our team’s goal – and we figured it out and were able to execute.”

Tomko and classmates John Adams, Isaac Wallace, Dyllon Ouderkirk and Lucian Snyder make up the core of the team. Most of them have been playing soccer together since middle school, and have known each other since kindergarten.

“It really helps,” said Adams, a senior center back. “I’ve known our keeper (Snyder) since we were 7 years old. It helps because we’ve played with each other for a lot of years. We’re friends on and off the field, and obviously it really helps when we’re on the field because we communicate and work together.”

The Calvary Baptist seniors (and coach), from left: John Adams, Isaac Wallace, coach James Day, Lucian Snyder, Charley Tomko and Dyllon Ouderkirk. The five seniors are also spread throughout the four levels of the Kings’ formation, which helps create a balance that Day said is the strength of his team.

Snyder plays in goal, with Adams at center back and Wallace at right back on defense. Tomko is an attacking midfielder, and Ouderkirk plays forward, where he’s netted more than 20 goals this season.

“It really does help to have an experienced player throughout all parts of the field,” Adams said. “We all understand how all of us play.”

The bond between those seniors – and the entire team – has been formed and strengthened by much more than their play.

During their sophomore season, their friend and teammate Stephen Kipfmiller died after a battle with leukemia. While his memory remains a constant in their minds, the Kings also do their best to continue to honor him outwardly. His number 19 was retired by the program, and their captains armbands are orange, representing leukemia awareness.

“That group has gone through a lot of adversity not just on the field, but off of it,” Day said. “Seeing how, even through struggle and hardship, there’s things we can do on and off the field that bring joy. Winning a title is temporary, but at the end of the day, it was fulfilling, too. There’s this bond we’ve formed around the sport, and it’s been great to be able to honor our friend Stephen and his life.”

Kipfmiller’s brother, Caleb, is a coach in the program, and his parents are regulars at the team’s games.

“When Stephen passed, we were sophomores, and since that year, the brotherhood between the seniors and all of our teams, and even our school, has grown an immense amount,” Tomko said. “His parents are still involved with our teams, they come to every home game. It’s really cool to play for God’s glory, and also to have that memory of Stephen. He always worked as hard as he could. Just the way he led the team, too, it’s something I look up to now. I remember Stephen being one of those silent leaders who was always calm and collected.”

No matter what happens in Wednesday night’s Regional Semifinal against Leland, or possibly after that, this year’s Calvary Baptist team, and specifically its group of seniors, have already cemented its legacy.

“We put in so many hours of work to improve our game and improve our chances in the season,” Tomko said. “When we first entered the MHSAA our freshmen year, we had a really solid group of seniors and juniors. Going into that, we did kind of set a high standard. It’s so cool that four years into being in the MHSAA, we won a District, and hopefully more. Looking back, it’s really cool to see how much this team has accomplished.”

Paul CostanzoPaul Costanzo served as a sportswriter at The Port Huron Times Herald from 2006-15, including three years as lead sportswriter, and prior to that as sports editor at the Hillsdale Daily News from 2005-06. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Genesee, Lapeer, St. Clair, Sanilac, Huron, Tuscola, Saginaw, Bay, Arenac, Midland and Gladwin counties.

PHOTOS (Top) Midland Calvary Baptist’s Charley Tomko, far left, sends a shot during a game this season.  (Middle) The Calvary Baptist seniors (and coach), from left: John Adams, Isaac Wallace, coach James Day, Lucian Snyder, Charley Tomko and Dyllon Ouderkirk. (Photos courtesy of the Calvary Baptist boys soccer program.