Roediger ready to run Eagle offense
It seems like just yesterday Columbia's Erik Roediger was zipping across the basketball court, his sophomore season coinciding with Coach Mark Sandstrom's inaugural campaign behind the bench.
The intervening years have flown by and Roediger has been a blur inside the space-time continuum, using his fleet feet to pace the Eagle offense."Erik can be a very good basketball player because of his speed," Sandstrom said. "He changes the game tempo wise. If he makes smart decisions and takes care of the ball while going up and down the floor he is very beneficial to us."
Roediger's speed was also put to good effect during the just-completed soccer season. The striker nabbed 25 goals and assisted on 22 others, many of them from the foot of junior Kyle Waller, who finished with 36 goals.
"Erik put a lot of offense in there with his assists and creating for other kids," Columbia soccer coach Shawn Hewitt said. "That's the reason why we did so well, because Erik was being so unselfish.
"Simply put, both of these guys took it upon themselves to make this team better. They make each other better and the entire team. They are a big help when they are healthy and playing well."
Roediger got the Eagles' only goal in the season-ending 2-1 loss to eventual IHSA Class A state champ Gibault in the final of the Columbia Sectional Oct. 22. The Eagles wrapped the campaign 18-6.
"I was glad," Roediger said. "My junior year I couldn't play because of an ACL injury, so I was really happy to be back playing. I was really glad to have Kyle up top there with me to support me and for me to support. I couldn't have asked for a better year."
Like his role on the soccer team, the point guard finds himself dishing to teammates on the basketball court, none more often than classmate Trent Blank, the Eagles' leading scorer the past two seasons.
"I owe him a lot of credit for the points I have scored," Blank said. "He has been a part of a lot of them."
Sandstrom's offense is a fast-paced maelstrom of movement reminiscent of the Arkansas teams of the early 1990s. Roediger's role, deciding when and where to place his passes, is crucial to the smooth operation.
"Erik really needs to concentrate on making smart decisions with the basketball," Sandstrom said. "In the previous two years he sometimes didn't make good decisions. This is something he will need to improve on.
"He also needs to distribute the ball as much as he can. With our big people and Blank and (junior Brian) Winters returning we really don't need a whole lot of scoring out of our point guard. We want him to distribute first and shoot second. We would like to see him have a 2-1 or 3-1 ratio on assists to turnovers."
"I'm the point guard and the offense runs through me," Roediger said. "If I make a bad decision the offense isn't going to flow right. It's repetition, knowing where people are going to be. You get a feel for your teammates, where they are going to be, their strengths and weaknesses. I think it's instinct."
Roediger's junior soccer season was squelched by a knee injury in the spring of 2006. Roediger rehabbed hard and got back in time for the hoops season.
"I was doing hurdles at the state track meet," Roediger said. "It was the preliminary run for hurdles and I hyperextended my knee and tore my ACL and I was out between four and six months.
"Rehab isn't easy. You have to put your effort into it if you want to come back strong. It's tough."
Time flies. Like sands through the hourglass, like "Days of our Lives." Time's almost run out on the Roediger era at Columbia. Faster than a speeding bullet, this senior speed demon will take one more run at the varsity field.
"This will be his third year of playing varsity basketball," Sandstrom said. "His experience in practice and games will pay dividends for this year's team. Also, his competitive nature is just so high. I just love to have those guys on our team."
"Eric has been the hardest worker through all three years," Blank said. "He had an ACL injury and he didn't let that get him down.
"You can't say enough about the kid. He's a good friend, a good teammate. He's just a good person overall on and off the court."
"I always try my hardest, no matter what I'm doing," Roediger said. "I want to win all the time, so I'm always trying my hardest.
"Last year we had our rough spots here and there, but this year we are hoping to do a lot better. We have high expectations for ourselves. We have the pieces, we just have to put it together. We have all bought in and know what we are doing. We all want it really bad."
