Stopping kicks and ball-carriers is second nature to Colts ace

Arlington High football coach Scott Peach called Ben Carroll the most athletic person at the school. Carroll is doing his best to prove Peach right.

Fresh off earning first-team football honors on the Star-Telegram 2016 Super Team, senior Ben Carroll has grabbed additional recognition – this time in a different sport.

Carroll was named the NSCAA/MaxPreps High School State Player of the Week in soccer for the week of Jan. 11-17.

In his first year as starting goalkeeper for the Colts varsity squad, Carroll has helped his defense post shutouts in three of its first six matches. He also has 77 saves and 0.8 goal-against average..

Perhaps most impressive about it is Carroll only started playing soccer last season. He just decided to give soccer a try and went to the program’s tryout.

“A lot of it comes so natural,” Arlington soccer coach Jeff Waldrop said. “When we saw him in tryouts last year, the coaches and I could see that wasn’t going to be a problem for him, to make that transition. There’s a few things we’ve had to teach him, some little things, but nothing major. He’s just got a knack, a natural ability. He reads the ball well. That’s just part of being a good athlete.”

“There definitely are some aspects of soccer that I’ve learned in football, like having quick feet and maybe catching the ball,” Carroll said. “But it does kind of just seem to come natural.”

Carroll is also a third baseman on the Colts baseball team, which could present a problem when the two sports overlap seasons starting in late February.

“Hopefully we can work out a little better deal this year,” Waldrop joked, referring to losing Carroll last year when baseball started. Carroll played primarily with the JV soccer squad last season.

“I think the year on the JV helped his experience,” Waldrop added. “Right now he’s in a zone that you don’t find very often.”

Carroll’s development as a goalkeeper could probably be traced back to skill sets required to play linebacker and third base, but he isn’t one to overanalyze.

“I guess there are some skills in soccer that I’ve used in football and baseball, but it’s more about just going out there and just not letting the ball in the goal,” Carroll said.

Carroll primarily chalks it up to being competitive.

“I’ve been a real competitive person since I was a kid. Sometimes I get a little too competitive over little things,” he said, noting a recent ping-pong match with football teammate Caleb McKee that lasted over two hours because neither wanted to lose.

While the soccer and baseball seasons will have to play out, and how Carroll will fit in the two remains to be seen, it’s unlikely he’ll take up additional sports – though he probably could.

“If he played tennis, he’d probably be the best tennis player in our school,” Waldrop said. “There’s no doubt he could play basketball if he wanted. He just so natural at everything he does.”

This story was originally published January 26, 2017 at 12:35 PM with the headline "Stopping kicks and ball-carriers is second nature to Colts ace."