Ebullient midfielder hopes to lead U.S. to Olympics in front of friends and family
It would have been one of the biggest games of Ben Olsen’s high school career, but he had to watch from the sidelines. His school, Middletown, was unbeaten when it traveled 15 minutes north to play perennial league contender Hershey, but Olsen had just broken his wrist.
“When I was growing up, playing in Hersheypark Stadium was a pretty big deal,” Olsen said. “It was disappointing because it was my senior year and I wanted to play with the guys and we were doing real well. … I don’t think they’ve ever forgiven me for it, actually.”
Without its star player, Middletown fell in a lopsided defeat.
Six years later, Olsen returns to Hershey, Pa., for the Olympic qualifying tournament April 21-30 as one of the United States’ star players. He’s played there one time since – an exhibition against the A-League’s Hershey Wildcats while he was with the U-20 national team – but this time something is again at stake. This time many of his former teammates will be watching proudly from the stands.
“A lot of people who are off at college are coming home to see [Olsen] play,” said Gary Kohler, a Middletown teammate. “The whole town knows about it.”
Middletown, located just a few miles southeast of Harrisburg, has about 10,000 residents and one high school. Its most notable landmark is the nuclear power plant at Three Mile Island; its most popular sport is American football. It was not exactly a soccer hotbed.
“When I was young, to play with the best guys and get myself better, I had to travel towards Philly and play on club teams there,” Olsen said. “Now it’s not so much the case. There are a couple local clubs that are pretty good and are competing at the state level. The high school is getting better, but there’s still a lot of work to do around the area. Harrisburg is still a huge untapped resource as far as soccer.”
Bred on backyard battles
Olsen’s emotional, energetic playing style originated somewhere in Middletown, and although it probably came from a combination of sources, his brother, Jeremy, four years older, was a major one.
“I’m not a good loser,” Olsen said. “I think it’s pretty good to not be a good loser sometimes at the professional level. I’m sure my older brother had a lot to do with it, always beating me in the backyard.”
A wooden playhouse in the corner of a large backyard was the target for a game Olsen and his brother invented – a soccer version of basketball’s “21.” The object was to beat your opponent (brother) on the dribble and shoot the ball through the three-foot square window. A successful shot meant a free kick from straight on; a miss meant a live ball off the plywood.
“[Jeremy] was a very good soccer player, so he’d beat me, but I didn’t like it and I’d always fight and sometimes it would get ugly, with me getting really mad,” Olsen said. “He didn’t lose to me often, but he was a sore loser, too.”
Although Olsen said he and his brother did their best to leave all the chores to their younger sister, Erin, the one thing he would care for was the lawn in back, painstakingly mowing it to try and mimic a plush soccer pitch.
“My mom threw out the idea of having gardens very early,” Olsen said.
Olsen’s mother, Carol, is fairly sure her yard will be safe from trampling soccer players when her son comes home later this month, but she fears her kitchen may not be.
“He asked if I could whip something up for the guys,” Carol said, smiling after watching her son’s dramatic game-winning goal for D.C. United against Chicago. “I think he expects me to feed the entire U.S. Olympic team.”
‘Everyone’s watching’
Olsen has not had many opportunities to spend time at home in the past two years, and if not for this tournament, this year would be even tougher than usual since he is splitting time among three teams.
Fatigue is something Olsen is keeping an eye on as the year unfolds, but he said all three of his coaches – Thomas Rongen, Bruce Arena and Clive Charles – are aware of his schedule and are willing to give him rest when he needs it.
Since he has 14 caps with the full national team and no other U-23 player has more than two, Olsen has to be considered one of the Olympic team’s leaders.
“It’s all guys your age, dealing with the same issues you’re dealing with, so it’s a little more like being on a college team,” Olsen said. “A bunch of these guys have tremendous experience overseas. I certainly don’t have room for error. I have to win a spot here, and everyone’s watching, so it’s something you want to play well at.
“We need to keep doing well every time we’re on a world stage. … It’s very important for U.S. Soccer for us to qualify.”
Olsen does not expect any sort of hero’s welcome in Middletown, noting that the Olympic team hasn’t won anything yet, but he is thrilled to have the chance to play so close to home.
“It’s such an amazing event for the people there to have an opportunity to see,” Olsen said. “I don’t think they’ll even realize it until they start to see some of these games and how intense they are. They can get brutal, a lot is at stake. Everyone wants to go to the Olympics, so it should be some great competition, and I think the town will come out and support it.”
And if Olsen plays well enough, his Middletown buddies might even let him off the hook for that broken wrist.
by Soccer America associate editor Will Kuhns