‘They’re just good people’: Summit soccer alum commits to Air Force Academy

(Update: adding video, comments from Ochander)

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Austin Ochander spent the past few months playing soccer in Spain, training to make a Division I college team -- and he succeeded.

“Most freshmen don’t start at the Division I level, or get any minutes, so going to Spain gave me the chance to develop -- and now I have the chance to come in and play this next year,” Ochander said this week.

The 2022 Summit High grad said that with many college players using their extra year of Covid eligibility, there weren’t a ton of roster spots available when he graduated, especially as a goalkeeper.

While playing in Spain, he met the coach of the Air Force Academy, and later committed to play and possibly start for the Colorado-based military school.

“The soccer part is going to make it feel a little bit more normal, and give me a break from the military part of the school,” Ochander said. “But it also gives me a chance to set myself apart and have a community.”

After graduation, he’ll serve five years in the Air Force, hoping to work with drones.

He never planned on joining the military, but feels the academy has a lot to offer.

“I mean, you can take flying lessons, jump out of planes, do all sorts of fun stuff,” Ochander said. “It’s just, everyone there is not average, and they all do special and different things. And that’s just super cool, to be around a group of individuals that all have their own interests, that are so different.”

Ochander said the military commitment did not phase him, and he sees it as an exciting next chapter in his life.

The biggest selling point bringing him to the school was the coaching staff.

“They’re just good people,” Ochander said. “When you talk to them, you can just tell they’re good, and they actually care about their players.”