Today we’d like to introduce you to Adam Huff.
Hi Adam, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, let’s briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today.
I grew up playing soccer in Lexington, Kentucky. My dream from the outset was to continuously pursue the game at the highest level I could as a player, then transition into coaching. The first coaching opportunity I ever encountered was in Aiken, South Carolina, where I played for the University of South Carolina-Aiken. A friend had gotten a part-time job as a youth soccer coach and invited me to practice. I’ve never been as instantly hooked on something as I was on that first coaching experience. I was invited to attend one practice, and here I am 23 years later, and I still have yet to leave the field. When I moved to Austin, finding a place to coach was priority number one. I was fortunate to find a job as the Junior Academy Director for FC Westlake, a position I’ve now held and cherished for 16 years.
Please talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned. Looking back, has it been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Whenever I tell people what I do for a living, the most typical response is, “You must deal with so many crazy parents!” It’s true people love their kids and want to see them do well, and it’s difficult to watch your children do anything without a flood of emotions coursing through your body, but 99.9% of the parents are fantastic and a pleasure to interact with. As time passes, that initial thought of what youth sports are like will transition to how fun, fulfilling, and inspiring it is to meet so many incredible people and play a small but vital role in their childhood. Soccer is an incredible medium for building our players’ character and social skills, so the success and growth they experience on the field will transfer into various social environments: school, home, etc. What is actually the most challenging part of this job is balancing my family life (I have a wife, a 9-year-old son with Down Syndrome, a 5-year-old son, and we’re expecting baby #3 this August) while working 7 days a week, nights and weekends.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
My primary focus within FC Westlake is our Junior Academy Program. This is our 6-10-year-old player’s first opportunity to be trained by our professional coaching staff. Our biggest fear isn’t that our players won’t become professional soccer players. Our biggest fear is that our young players will have a negative experience and they’ll stop playing. If we lose players out of the sport while they’re in elementary school, we likely won’t ever get them back, and they may not even grow up to be a fan of the sport in their adulthood.
What I’m most proud of is how our staff treat our players. I have worked diligently to build a culture within our Academy program that values children’s experience with the sport ahead of anything else. We’re constantly trying to walk the tightrope of pushing our players to learn and improve their ability to play and understand the game while remaining aware of how young they are. We’re convinced you can do both. We can enhance our player’s technical abilities, help them develop a strong sense of tactical awareness, and help them unlock their ability to be courageous and compete while ensuring they have a ton of fun and feel safe every day with us.
Networking and finding a mentor can positively impact one’s life and career. Any advice?
The best way to become a great coach is to be around great coaches. If you’re interested in getting started and learning how to train young players, we’re more than happy to pair a brand new coach with a more experienced coach so they can learn on the job with great examples and not be “thrown into the deep end” to either sink or swim.
Contact Info:
- Website: fcwestlake.com
