NEW PALESTINE — Downtime isn’t a mode Eric Roudebush is accustomed to regardless of the season.
A three-sport athlete at New Palestine High School, the senior is always in transition. From varsity football to basketball to baseball, Roudebush’s schedule is consistently packed and overlapping.
It seems the only thing capable of stopping Roudebush’s fluid nonstop list of athletic commitments is himself, which never happens, and the unexpected, which unfolded in March as the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic halted all sports nationally.
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“Through the four years, I’ve had maybe a week of no practice. So this is really, really weird not to have any school sport where I don’t have to practice,” Roudebush remarked. “It’s always going onto the next sport.”
These days, Roudebush is social distancing, like most student-athletes in quarantine, but he’s not lounging on the couch. Whenever possible, he trains alone, runs and lifts weights with classmate and future Hanover College gridiron teammate Brody Luker.
Normally, the left-handed hitting outfielder would be preparing for a Hoosier Heritage Conference game, or at the very least, working on his punting or route running for football.
In constant motion, Roudebush isn’t afraid of multi-tasking. It’s been his trend since middle school.
“(Being a multi-sport athlete) is definitely something I always wanted to do. When I was younger, I was always playing sports. I’d go from soccer practice to football practice, but once I got out of soccer, I just kept playing three sports,” Roudebush said. “It just continued through high school.”
Roudebush started playing baseball in the second grade, followed by football and basketball in the fourth grade with soccer sprinkled in until the fifth grade. He added track and field for two years in the seventh and eighth grades.
“I couldn’t figure out which one I could quit in high school, so I just decided to keep playing all three,” Roudebush said.
Why pick just one? While many student-athletes tend to specialize by zeroing in on one sport year-round, Roudebush specialty is his versatility, a philosophy he will continue at Hanover where he’s committed to play both football and baseball.
“My decision (to go to Hanover) was based around being able to play two because going from three and having to focus on one that was kind of something my parents and I talked about. We didn’t think that would be the best because they thought I would be bored all the time,” Roudebush said.
“College sports are going to be a lot harder, so competing in two will be just as busy as three, and I feel like I can handle that going into college playing two. I’m looking forward to it.”
Roudebush’s propensity for becoming a multi-sport athlete came from his parents’ example. His father, Nick, a New Palestine graduate, played football player, basketball and baseball. His mother, Mindy, went to Greenwood and was active in volleyball and basketball.
While growing up, Eric’s father coached three sports with stints at Eastern Hancock, Triton Central and Warren Central for baseball and football with girls basketball as well.
“When I was younger, my dad was coaching high school teams, so always being around those teams and my mom taking me to those games, it really made an impact seeing all those athletes play,” Roudebush said. “It made me want to continue playing and love the games that I do play.”
Roudebush’s passion led to great successes at New Palestine.
As an all-around threat, Roudebush was a quarterback, punter, a wide receiver and logged time on defense for the Dragons’ back-to-back Class 5A state championship football team.
He averaged 37.2 yards per punt attempt in his career with his longest boot touching 60 yards this past season to earn All-HHC honors. His greatest feat, however, came during the 2019 state title game at Lucas Oil Stadium this past November when starting quarterback Lincoln Roth went down early with an injury against Valparaiso (13-1).
Roudebush stepped right in and led the Dragons (14-0) to a 27-20 victory during the battle of unbeatens behind 53 yards rushing on 12 carries and five punts totaling 203 yards.
On the basketball court, Roudebush was a varsity starter his senior year, averaging 9.1 points per game with 3.5 rebounds and 1.7 assists. The Dragons won a second straight sectional title in March and were heading to the Southport Regional before the pandemic cancelled the boys basketball state tournament for the first time in its 110-year history.
The cancellation of all remaining 2019-20 high school sports erased Roudebush’s final baseball season before it even began, which he admits is difficult to accept. Roudebush and his senior teammates were determined to improve on last year’s 16-13 record and 10-2 loss to Cathedral in the sectional final.
“I really feel for those guys on the baseball team that only play baseball. This was their final season because they’re not going to play college ball,” Roudebush said. “This was their time to show what they can do and represent the town of New Pal. They don’t get that opportunity anymore. For me, it kind of eases it that I am going to play baseball in college. It helps some, but I’m still disappointed we aren’t having our season.”
Roudebush was slotted to start in right field and hit fifth for the Dragons this spring with some innings ahead for the right-handed pitcher.
As a junior, Roudebush hit .265 with 10 RBI, 18 runs scored, three doubles, three stolen bases and a .427 on-base percentage. According to Dragons baseball coach Shawn Lyons, this year had the potential to be Roudebush’s breakout campaign.
“I told the colleges coaches I talked to, ‘We don’t know how good Eric can be because he’ll have more time to focus on baseball in college, but no matter where he’s going to be, he’s going to be maxed out because of all the work he’ll put in,’” Lyons said.
“He’s an outstanding baseball player, but his qualities off the diamond, in the dugout and in the classroom and the community are what makes him special as well.”
Roudebush doesn’t know how to slack, and it showed in junior high school when he set a school record with the 3,200-meter relay team while running the 400, 800 and the 1,600 relay with the long jump thrown in for fun.
In the summer, Roudebush routinely mixed in high school football preseason conditioning with time on the Indy Squad Organization baseball team.
“That’s a testament to Eric. In today’s day and age, when people tell you don’t do it, he did it,” Lyons said. “I think his dad was a big proponent to that, too. He told him, you’re not going to sit around, you’re going to keep playing these three sports and enjoy it while you can.”
Roudebush wouldn’t have it any other way — on or off the field.
While at Hanover, Roudebush won’t just be a two-sport athlete, he plans to double major in both business and communication. Though, a third major isn’t out of the question yet.
Trips back home to see his younger brother, Eian, 15, compete in football, basketball and track will help maintain Eric’s ties to New Palestine moving forward, but his Dragons’ experience won’t fade any time soon.
“I feel really fortunate that’s I’ve had great coaches in each sport and great teammates that are committed to getting everything done in each sport,” Roudebush said.
“Clearly the state championships and the sectional championships will stick out, but overall, with all three sports, I, honestly, will remember the relationships that I’ve built through football, basketball and baseball. They are ones that will last a lifetime. I going to remember those the most and the good times, being there for each other and all the moments we pushed each other to be our best.”
