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Jeremiah Gutjahr: Bloomington and Beyond

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For many athletes, their high school days are some of the first times where they are able to play in front of their hometown. To play in front of their peers, their teachers, friends and family, it can give one the sense of jubilance.

Junior midfielder Jeremiah Gutjahr never had that chance, until he came to Indiana University.

Gutjahr, a Bloomington native that attended Bloomington North High School, chose a different route that started in 8th grade. While in 8th grade, he started to play for the Indiana Fire, a soccer academy out of Westfield, Indiana that is affiliated with the MLS team, the Chicago Fire.

"I actually never played in high school," Gutjahr said. "If you were with the academy you couldn't play high school soccer, you had to pick one or the other, and my freshman year was the first year where you had to pick one or the other…so my freshman year (at IU) it was nice to have the feeling of playing in front of my home crowd for the first time."

He mentioned that this didn't affect him much, as he has a growth mindset that would've eventually needed more of a challenge than high school soccer.

Growing up, Gutjahr was involved in many sports. He played baseball and basketball organized, did a little swimming, and played some tennis (never in competition) because his mom was a tennis player. He also mentioned that he played a lot of backyard football.

Who doesn't like a little backyard football?

However, soccer prevailed.

"When I was younger both my parents threw me into a lot of sports, but I think my dad enjoyed soccer quite a bit and we kind of bonded over that, so I stuck with it and kept on going. I was like three or four at the time when I started playing at the local YMCA," Gutjahr said.

With both his parents being Stanford graduates, he had some interest in playing for the Cardinal program, but nothing could convince him to leave Indiana and Bloomington specifically.

"I was going to visit Georgetown and Notre Dame and I had already visited Butler and Xavier, but it was basically between Stanford and IU," Gutjahr said. "Stanford was the only school that could have taken me away from Indiana. I visited and I didn't feel like I fit how I wanted to so I committed to Indiana my sophomore year."

As a matter of fact, Gutjahr only spent three years in high school. He saw many players that he knew leave high school for their college careers a semester early, as this was rather common, but he took it to the next step.

"I always kind of thought I wanted to do that (leave high school a semester early), but I was getting kind of tired of the academy and I wanted to keep challenging myself," Gutjahr said. "I already knew where I was going to college, and I got tired of the drive up to Westfield three times a week. I talked with coach Yeagley and coach Maisonneuve and they were on board as long as I could do it academically. I worked hard academically and was in a good spot, it worked out really well, and I'm very happy that I was able to do it."

When talking with head coach Todd Yeagley , he mentioned that he knew Gutjahr was ready for the challenge of coming to college early, and ultimately it was his decision.

"He's so mature and so ahead of the game, we felt that his environment was going to tap out, of what he was going to be able to absorb from that environment (playing with the Academy)," Yeagley said. "He was ready for the next challenge…I think academically he was ready to make that jump earlier than most. He came in looking like a college senior when it came to maturity level."

In his freshman season Gutjahr appeared in 17 matches with the Hoosiers, all off the bench. He totaled one assist on the season.

He believes that coming off the bench his freshman season was pivotal in developing him to the type of player that he is now. As he mostly started in his days with the Academy, coming off the bench was a new feel that took some time to get used to.

"I think having the perspective of coming off the bench and having more of a supportive role was huge….just that perspective of having your teammates around you so you know what they're going through, because it can be frustrating at times when you're not playing as much as you want to be, but you can relate to them, and still kind of help them through it because you've been there and experienced it," Gutjahr said.

In his sophomore season, Gutjahr appeared in 20 matches, where he started in 11. He had one goal and one assist on the season, and was also acknowledged to the Academic All-Big Ten team.

Gutjahr has furthermore had the opportunity to represent the United States as a member of the U-18 and U-20 United States National Team's.

"Yeah it actually was, it was a big dream when I was younger," Gutjahr said when asked if playing for the national team was always a dream of his. "It has always been kind of a dream, but I got less focused on the national team, and then I started to kick better. They start at the U-14's, and I never made the 14, 15, or 17's, but then I made it with the 18's and 20's. I guess it's always good to make it later than early, but it was definitely a goal."

In February, Gutjahr was one of 24 players named to an 11-day training camp roster as the U.S. team entered its final stage of preparation for the 2017 CONCACAF U-20 Championship in Costa Rica.

Gutjahr mentioned that he was honored to be selected for the training camp, but didn't think he was going to receive the opportunity to travel with the team to Costa Rica.

"It was incredible, it was a ton of fun. I wasn't really expecting to go (to the 2017 CONCACAF Championship)," Gutjahr said. "I was told I probably wouldn't make the CONCACAF roster, so I went down to Florida just expecting to go to camp and come back, but when I was down there they told me I was probably making the CONCACAF, so I came home and tried to figure out school stuff."

"It was awesome. It was three weeks in Costa Rica with a bunch of friends playing soccer….it was pretty incredible," Gutjahr said.

Gutjahr did not make the roster for the U-20 World Cup held in South Korea, but he admitted that it wasn't much of a shock.

When asked what the main difference between the two is (playing nationally and collegiately), Gutjahr had an answer that almost any student-athlete could relate to.

"In Costa Rica I was the only kid that was physically going to class. It's trying to be a full-time student, but at the same time I'm trying to do everything that a professional soccer player would be doing. It's the day-to-day training like they are, and taking care of your body the same way. Because you are competing against pros, you have to be the same," Gutjahr said.

He also noted that it was kind of the same thing he does here during the school year, in regards to balancing schoolwork while in the heart of the soccer season.

Coach Yeagley knew this was a good opportunity for Gutjahr to grow as a player.

"They're put in some really tough environments when it comes to the level of play. The level of play (with national teams) is really high end, and there are a lot of different challenges that most of them haven't gone through before," Yeagley said. "They go from being the best player on their team to the support, and they have to be able to establish what they can bring to that group, but the level of play, the challenges of playing internationally, the style of play that you're introduced to and exposed to are really important in developing."

Gutjahr looks to take his new understandings of the game of soccer to the upcoming season this fall.

"I just need to keep moving forward. The big thing is I'm just excited to be here this summer, and working on my weaknesses so come season you're ready to go, ready to push your teammates and keep challenging each other. We'll have a good team in the fall, and I'm really looking forward to it," Gutjahr said.

iuhoosiers.com/news/2017/6/5/mens-soccer-jeremiah-gutjahr-bloomington-and-beyond.aspx

Go Hoosiers!
 
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