CIRCLEVILLE — A successful campaign in which he set a pair of team records has helped Circleville’s Kaden Paxton put his name on the Mark Anderson Award as Pickaway County’s top boys soccer player.
“He stepped in as a freshman, and we asked a lot of him,” Circleville coach Evan Callihan said. “It’s hard to play varsity right away, and we threw him in a spot, you know, center of the park there. That’s where a lot of upperclassmen play, and he’s played that since he was a freshman.”
To go with 16 goals this season, Paxton had a school record 22 assists and finished his career with 52, also a team record. Both of those records date back to 2003.
“We haven’t had any individual records broken in over 20 years, and for him to break two of them — that just speaks to how hard he’s worked and the type of career he had here at Circleville,” Callihan said.
Paxton said his success came as part of what the team was able to accomplish.
“We had a great season this year, I thought. We reached a lot of our goals,” he said. “We made it to the district final, that was a big goal. And beating the kind of teams we played, we had a great season with 15 wins and tied the school record for most wins by a team.”
Reaching those goals came from the on-field chemistry with his teammates.
“I think that my two forwards, first of all, Blain (Fowler) and Kamale (Agagi-Ali) — just them putting it in the back of the net off the pass was really helpful,” Paxton said. “They’re two great players, too, and that really helped me get a lot of assists, just playing the ball to them and them putting it in the net.
“And I liked our formation, having two forwards is nice to get some passes through the slot through the defense to get some assists.”
“We always say he’s like the quarterback of a team,” Callihan said. “If you play center midfield, you’re directing traffic, you’re distributing, you’re getting people to the right spots. He’s the leader out there on the field, and he distributes well.
“Our two forwards had outstanding seasons this year. He did a great job of finding those guys.”
Along with the Anderson Award, Paxton also has been named First Team All-Mid-State League Buckeye Division and First Team All-Southeast District.
Paxton’s leadership was important as the Tigers were utilizing a mix of ages on the field.
“We had some freshmen, sophomores — we had a little bit of everything. It’s not like we had 15 seniors on this team,” Callihan said. “He does a great job bringing the younger ones along. He got to play one year with his younger brother (Nolan), who had a big impact on our team. He helped bring him along.
“The leadership that (Kaden) brought to us, that’s something that as a coach, you’ve got to have to be successful and he had it. We could tell him something, he was going to do it.”
When the Tigers tied the school record with their 15th win, they advanced to the district championship against top-seeded Minford, a state runner-up two seasons ago.
After battling through a scoreless regulation, Minford finally got a goal through in overtime to end Circleville’s year, but that game left a lasting impression on Paxton.
“Even though we came up short, it was exciting seeing all the people that came out and supported. That’s probably the highest attendance I’ve seen at a soccer game, definitely in my career, that I’ve had at a soccer game,” Paxton said. “So that was really fun. There were a lot of students there.”
“I think the standard was set this year. We knew it was going to be a tough battle going into Minford. The longer that game went, I think our guys felt a little bit of belief that we can compete with them and beat them, getting them to overtime, and losing in heartbreaking fashion,” Callihan said. “Him helping us get there along with those seniors, I think that he helped set a standard here those other guys – they’re hungry.
“We’ve only been (to the district finals) three times in school history, but it’s made those younger guys hungry for more. He’s really set a precedent for us, and, hopefully, it’s something we can build on moving forward.”
The success didn’t come from just his playing in the fall.
“There was a lot of club soccer, a lot of traveling, thanks to my parents (Brooke and Jason),” Paxton said. “And then, just out in the yard, dribbling in the summer, that definitely helped a lot. And just showing up to every open field, every practice throughout the summer helped a lot.”
Following Paxton’s work ethic is something Callihan says the team can build on, as well.
“He knows what takes to win. We talked a lot about attitude and toughness, and he brings those two things to the table each and every day. He’s always there, always pushing everyone,” Callihan said. “As talented as he is on the field and his leadership, on and off the field, he carries over a 4.0 GPA in the classroom. He’s a very smart kid.
“He wants to win, just as bad in the games, but at practice when we’re doing a drill, if he doesn’t win it, you can tell he’s affected by it. And that’s what it takes to be successful as a program.”
While likely done with organized soccer, Paxton will be taking that same drive and determination he had on the field with him to the University of Cincinnati next fall where he plans to major in accounting.
The award is named for Mark Anderson, a Circleville High School graduate who scored the very first varsity soccer goal in Pickaway County history in 1982.
The winner of the Mark Anderson Award and the Brad Morris All-Pickaway County soccer teams were selected by the Pickaway County high school soccer coaches.
Mark Anderson Award winners
2023 — Derek Yarnell (Teays Valley)
2024 — Maxwell Spencer (Teays Valley)
2025 — Gavin Waters (Teays Valley)
2026 — Kaden Paxton (Circleville)