Senior Justin Keller was taking three breaths to calm his game day jitters while preparing for his first game with the new Oklahoma Energy Soccer Club as the new kid on the team. Dribbling the ball with the goal in sight, Keller unexpectedly got decked by a defender two times his size. With no foul called, he brushed it off and made sure it didn’t distract him from the rest of the game.
“Right then and there I knew I had to immediately adjust and be more aggressive when I played from then on,” Keller said.
Since August, Keller has been staying in a hotel with one of his parents every Saturday through Tuesday in Oklahoma City to play on a team for the Oklahoma Energy Soccer Club.
Keller made the decision to leave the East varsity soccer team his senior year after a hip injury forced him to watch from the stands rather than playing with his teammates all of junior year.
Keller underwent two different hip surgeries as a junior in an attempt to fix a CAM impingement and labral tear in his right and left hip — restricting him from playing. And because colleges start recruiting high school athletes during their junior year, Keller knew he needed to find a team that would get him more exposure in hopes of being recruited.
Healed from his injury, he was on the lookout for competitive leagues with more exposure that were within close range of Kansas. With the help of a former coach, Keller contacted the director of the Oklahoma Energy Soccer Club. He said he would be interested in having him join, but needed to see him play first. After playing in two trial games with the team he was offered a spot.
Keller went into his first week as a new member of the team hesitant about what was to come. It took some time to adjust to the new setting and more challenging playing style, but after a couple games and practices with the team, he was confident with his decision.
“Moving down here really helped me realize it’s not all about playing the sport, it’s more of a passion,” Keller said. “You have to treat every game like it’s your last and play your hardest, [while being aggressive], at every game.”
Keller and his teammates have been able to bond through playing video games and visiting the local Buffalo Wild Wings to watch the NFL. He’s learned more from his team than just how to score a digital goal in FIFA. They remind him to stay calm when under pressure, not to over-dribble the ball and to work the ball around the opposing team.
After three and a half hours of practice on Tuesday, Keller drives back to Kansas City and gets home by 1 a.m. — waking up six hours later for online school at East. Ever since sophomore year he’s had a reduced schedule of only five hours of school — allowing him to work with his trainer for the last two hours.
On the days he is back in Kansas City, Keller makes sure to keep in contact with all his friends. He’s still in the East soccer group chat and frequently asks them how they’re doing.
“When I’m in Kansas I still try to hang out with the guys,” Keller said. “We go to a field and shoot a couple and hangout for an hour or two.”
Keller and his girlfriend senior Alexis Nyhus have also learned to make the miles between them work out for the best. They FaceTime every night and make sure to spend time with each other on the days Keller is in town.
“[Our relationship has] definitely gotten stronger because of him being gone all the time,” Nyhus said. “We’ve learned to manage our time while he’s [in Kansas City].”
Being a part of the Oklahoma team will give Keller the opportunity to reach his goals of playing professionally on the Ajax Amsterdam team after college.
Keller’s old Head Varsity Soccer Coach Jamie Kelly applauds him for making the mature decision to step away from the high school team to help him with his college career. Coach Kelly was sad to see such a great player leave his team, but knows he will be successful with the work ethic he has.
“You drive by the field and see him working to get better,” Kelly said. “He has his goals he tries to accomplish and is trying to do it for as long as he can, [which] takes a great work ethic to be able to do that.”