Clarkston’s Richie Ludwig has been playing soccer his entire life.
“I’ve been playing soccer since I was 3 years old, playing the kiddie kickers, and then got introduced to the club season very, very young,” Ludwig said. “My dad has been a very good role model of mine, just always telling me to strive for the best and to make a name for myself.”
His dedication — and competitiveness — has paid off.
“Playing club season every year leading up to being a freshman, I always just want to compete and be the best. I’m always an athlete in whatever I do. I always want to be the best one there is, and being a freshman and coming in my first year and playing on varsity was a really big step for me,” he said.
Three years later, Ludwig might be the best high school player in the state of Michigan. He will start the year as one of the leading candidates for Mr. Soccer after being the only junior on last year’s All-State Dream Team.
“It’s nice to have someone like Richie that can change a game in an instant. That’s the benefit of someone like him. He can be quiet and then all of a sudden he’s done something and the whole game has changed,” Wolves head coach Ian Jones said.
And having been recruited already made it easier for Ludwig to choose high school soccer instead of playing club ball.
“I’ve been blessed to have a lot of opportunities with going to play in that MLS Next League,” Ludwig said. “I felt like for me it (high school) was a great option to still be intact with Clarkston and a few of my buddies, and also I was already getting the recruitment that I needed. So there was no real push to go into that MLS Next League and play there because I was already getting the recruitment that I needed.”
Now that he’s a senior, Ludwig wants to pass on his knowledge and do whatever he can to make both himself and his team better as they look to make another deep playoff run.
“We don’t play to play Richie. We play a team game, and Richie fits in our team. He does what he’s asked and he does it very, very well. That’s the important thing,” Jones said. “Fortunately, Richie is a very good team player, and he fits into that. He’s matured immensely over the last four years. He’s kind of a quiet kid. But now what I’ve seen so far this year, he’s taken on that leadership role. He sees the next crop of talent coming through, and instead of being kind of quiet, he’s helping them and talking to them.”
Last year, Clarkston bowed out in the regional final to Northville. This year, with Ludwig leading the pack and a deeper, more experienced team overall, the Wolves look to go all the way.
“Last season was a very good season for us,” Ludwig said. “The expectations for this year is obviously we have to train very hard and try and make the farthest run that we can and go win that state championship. Obviously, we have high hopes to win the districts and then take it game by game from there. … The end goal is obviously to win that state championship. So we’ve just got to keep taking it game by game and go on from there.”