“I’ve had to grow up a lot. I’m on my own. I’ve had to be responsible, stay healthy, and keep up my grades. I’ve also had to make sure my priorities were in the right place,” says Timothy Huff, a senior at Valdosta High School who is currently training and playing soccer in Spain with the Spanish first division team RDC Espanyol. Huff is on his second stint to Spain, having already been across the pond one other time, from August to November.
How Huff ended up playing with a professional team in Spain is an interesting story in its own right. Last summer, he went to Portland, Oregon, to visit family. While he was out there, he contacted a semi-professional soccer team to see if he could train with them. He worked out with the team in Portland and got himself invited to a camp while he was out there. Huff played well at the camp and actually considered moving to Portland to keep playing out there. Then his phone rang with an invitation to play in Spain. “It wasn’t a hard sell on my parents,” he says. “They knew soccer was my passion, and they knew what a good opportunity this was for me. They raised me to be independent, and they thought I was mature enough to handle it. They were excited for me.”
Going from summer vacation to playing soccer in Europe may seem like a rather sudden development but that’s the way his entire soccer career has been. Huff didn’t start playing soccer until he was in the eighth grade. Then at Hahira Middle School, Huff tried out for what was then known as the South Georgia United and, surprisingly, made the team. He kept training and getting better and eventually went from the worst player on the team to an average South Georgia soccer player in one year. “That motivated me to keep playing and working,” he says. As a freshman, Huff made Valdosta High’s varsity squad. A year later, he was a starter. Then, last year, Huff was named team captain. And now he’s playing with a pro team in Spain.
Huff, a center mid in the States but an outside back with Espanyol, was in Spain from the beginning of August until November. He’s dual enrolled at Valdosta High and Georgia Military College. He had to balance the demands of playing with a top Spanish soccer club, staying on top of his school work, and learning a brand new culture, all on his own. Things went well for him in the fall, and, after spending the holidays back home, he returned to Spain in February. Huff played the first three games of the year with Valdosta High, then he headed back across the pond.
Europeans and Americans obviously play a different style of soccer, and it’s taken some getting used to. Of course at the level at which Huff is playing, everyone is good – really, really good. The players are faster and more precise. But he says the European game is more team-focused, fluid, and in control. The ball is always exactly where it needs to be, and everyone plays as one unit. Team success is always the primary objective; no one player ever attempts to outshine the team. “The players over here are just phenomenal,” he says.
When Huff is done in Europe, he plans to return home, where he will play soccer at Oglethorpe University in Atlanta. He began 2016 behind on recruiting; because he spent the fall in Europe, few colleges knew much about him. Huff went to several camps before he returned to Spain and performed well at each camp. Representatives from Oglethorpe were at one camp and liked what they saw. Not long after, Huff received a call asking if he would like to play for Oglethorpe. “I loved the campus and knew immediately I wanted to go to school there,” he says.
Playing in Europe doesn’t hurt Huff’s amateur status. Though RDC Espanyol is a professional team, Huff cannot legally get paid to play even though he’s participating in games with the club. His eligibility for collegiate soccer in America remains intact, and he should have no problem adjusting to the college game this fall.
Would he like to return to Europe in the future? Absolutely. “I would love to play professionally over here. That’s why I came back. I have a guardian over here who’s trying to get me on a team. Espanyol is a good team and very well known. This is a great opportunity for me,” he says.
Special Feature/South Georgia/April 2016
Timothy Huff
Valdosta High School
Valdosta, Georgia
Robert Preston Jr.
VHS senior spends semester training, playing soccer in Spain
