Carmel's Ehren, Galdoni: Leaders in their field(s)

Teenagers love to jack up the music in the car.

But sometimes, Austin Ehren and Lukas Galdoni turned down the music on their rides home from Carmel to Hawthorn Woods, where they live about three minutes from each other.

And they talked instead. Really talked.

The two baseball players have had plenty to talk about over the years.

Plenty, in fact, that would be good for other young athletes to hear.

Both Ehren and Galdoni have been varsity athletes on two different sports at Carmel. Since their freshmen years.

In fact, they've been starters in both sports as freshmen - baseball and soccer for Ehren (a senior), and baseball and basketball for Galdoni (a junior).

It's a distinction they are proud of and grateful for, but one that came with unique challenges and difficulties.

Freshmen on the varsity in any sport at any high school is still a rare occurrence.

"Austin would always take me home after practice and we would talk a lot about being on varsity (as younger players)," said Galdoni, a pitcher and first baseman for the Corsairs. "When I was going through growing pains my freshman year, Austin would always be able to tell me the best things I should do because he went through it too. It really helped. We bonded a lot by having that similar experience."

Both Ehren and Galdoni say that their experiences at Carmel have been positive, that the older guys on the team welcomed them when they were freshmen and were supportive as they learned.

The problems for them usually came from within, putting pressure on themselves to be perfect or to prove to everyone that, yes, they really did belong up with the big boys as rookies.

"Looking back, I wish I wasn't always so nervous my freshman year. I was nervous about everything. I wish I had gone out and just played," said Ehren, an outfielder and the leadoff hitter for the Corsairs. "You are being brought up for a reason, the coaches see something in you, and you need to just trust that."

Both Ehren and Galdoni were brought up to varsity for baseball about halfway through their freshman years.

They say one of the biggest adjustments was the speed of the game: faster pitches, faster throws, faster base-running.

"I definitely wasn't ready for that," Ehren said. "Going up against the older guys was so much different."

Fitting in with the older guys was a challenge, too. On a social level.

"All of a sudden you're three to four years younger than your teammates," Galdoni said. "Getting into the swing of things socially was tough at times. They were just into different things and talked about different things. There was a lot to learn with that as a younger guy."

Ehren learned a lot about being a varsity athlete from his older brother Justin, who was a senior on the soccer team when Austin was called up as a freshman.

"I was just so excited to be on the same field as my brother," Ehren said. "We had never had that chance before. That was really cool. And he taught me a lot. He taught me how to be a varsity athlete, about how to stay positive, that you can't let yourself get down easily. The mental aspects of the game are so much bigger at the varsity level."

While Ehren had his big brother to lean on, Galdoni had Ehren, and their car rides home together.

Their talks in the car were invaluable to Galdoni as he was learning the varsity ropes as a freshman.

"The learning curve for a freshman on varsity is just so big," Galdoni said. "Whatever the older guys tell you, you have to take it with you and just be open to keep learning. I just remember being so hard on myself my freshman year. But everyone kept reminding me to be confident because there was a reason the coaches wanted me on the team. I just always had to remember to keep my confidence up."

Somehow, both Ehren and Galdoni were able to do that, and were able to ride out the growing pains to become successful upperclassmen.

They've both had plenty of big moments along the way, like when Galdoni hit the first home run of his varsity career as a sophomore against Marian Central, or when Ehren robbed a St. Viator batter of a home run last season by snagging a ball that had already cleared the fence.

Now, the two seasoned baseball standouts are ready for the next phase of their careers, ready to start over at the bottom of the totem pole again.

Ehren will be playing college ball on a scholarship at Belmont next year, and Galdoni is hoping to play in college the following year.

Schools such as Notre Dame, Bradley and Cornell have contacted him already.

"It's helped me out so much in the long run to have been playing varsity all these years," Ehren said. "The players are more talented, the game is faster. It's been a great experience that will help (in college)."

"You spend all of your freshman and sophomore years learning and learning and making adjustments," Galdoni added. "And now, you're just so much more comfortable, you've grown so much. Overall, as a person and as a player, you've just gotten better. You've gotten bigger and stronger and faster, but you've gotten better. You've gotten the repetitions. You've done it so many times that it's all a little easier now."

And when on easy (or easier) street, the music in the car can go back to being super loud.

It's been a long and winding varsity road for both Ehren and Galdoni. But now, they are both at the point in their careers where they can just enjoy the ride.

So turn that music up!

pbabcock@dailyherald.com

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