| Jeff
Huffman |
| |
Position:
Head Coach |
|
Experience:
4th Year |
|
Alma
Mater: Shepherd University |
|
Contact:
620-276-9612(cell 316-680-3529) |
|
|
Garden City Community College
Jeff Huffman was hired as the man to start up the brand new soccer program at Garden City Community College in July of 2004. During the 2004-2005 school year, Coach Huffman juggled responsibilities of being an Admissions Representative while having the ominous task of building two programs from scratch- without the help of an assistant coach and without any knowledge of the Midwest Region. Regardless, the Buster programs have been competitive in the Jayhawk Conference from the outset.
The fall 2008 season marked the fourth season of head coaching duties for 31 year old Jeff Huffman at Garden City Community College and sixth season overall in the collegiate ranks-and what a season it was. The team shattered many program records and set some single game “firsts”-including most goals scored in a season, least amount of goals allowed in a season and recorded a season sweep of arch rival Dodge City Community College for the first time in program history. All in all, the program finished above .500 and in Region 6 for the first time ever. The Lady Busters finished the regular season on a five game winning streak and lost four of their six regular season games by a single goal.
Coach Huffman was the Head Coach for both the men’s and women’s soccer programs in 2005 and 2006. From the start, Huffman dedicated himself to putting two teams on the field that would build the framework of Broncbuster Soccer for years to come. During the Fall 2005 season, the men's program finished a surprising 12-3-1, while the women's program qualified for the Region 6 tournament in it's first year of existence. Three men's players were named to the All Region team at the conclusion of the fall 2005 season, along with one female player. During the fall 2006 season, the men’s team made it to the “Final Four” of the Region 6 tournament, while the women’s team qualified for another Region 6 tournament birth. Three men’s players were named to the All Conference team, while one woman player was named to the All Region team.
Huffman finished his two year head coaching stint on the men’s side with a .625 winning percentage. In July 2007, Coach Huffman become the Director of Soccer Operations and Head Women’s Soccer Coach, handing over the head men’s coaching duties to Steve Gorton-a man Coach Huffman hired as his assistant before the fall 2005 season. As Director of Soccer Operations, Coach Huffman is involved with all types of administrative and logistical work involving both programs.
The fall 2007 season saw the women earn their third straight Region 6 birth and saw one player earn All-Region honors. The fall 2008 season saw the Lady Busters finish 6-5-1 in Region 6 play and 8-7-1 overall, while having one player named to the All Conference and All Region team. All in all, Coach Huffman has coached 11 players (male and female) from the Buster soccer programs that have moved on to the four year level-six of which that have moved on to NCAA Division 1.
In addition, Coach Huffman’s women’s soccer program has produced three Academic All Americans starting with the 2006 graduating class. Coach Huffman’s women’s soccer team had the second highest cumulative team GPA in the Jayhawk Conference during the 2006-2007 school year and the third highest in 2007-2008. “With 18-19 year old young adults, they have been in school long enough that they should know what study habits work for them and which one’s do not. The big thing I harp on with the team is being in class. I receive weekly reports on their class attendance and grades. Between being in class on a consistent basis, having a good repoirte with their professors and with the academic resources available at the institution-everything is in place for all students to find academic success."
“I was happy with the job I did in my first two years of being the men’s head soccer coach. I felt very comfortable handing the men’s program over to Stephen Gorton-as I knew the men’s program was only going to continue to improve under his guidance. I was not happy with where I had the women’s program and wanted the challenge of building the women’s program into a competitive team in Region 6. I knew the only way to do that was focusing all of my recruiting efforts with one team and one team only. In 2008, we were competitive from a score line perspective with all of the teams in Region 6 minus one. I feel the program is only a few pieces of the puzzle away from getting over the “proverbial hump” and being a team that can beat any team in Region 6 on any given day.”
WILLIAMS COLLEGE
Before coming to Garden City, Huffman spent two seasons as men’s/women’s assistant coach at NCAA Division 3 national power Williams College (Massachusetts)-as he was hired in April of 2002 for the fall 2002 season. Huffman ended up being an assistant there for the 2002 and 2003 seasons. Williams has an incredible reputation in NCAA Division 3 soccer: the men have posted an impressive 27 consecutive winning seasons and have produced more pro players in the New England Region then any other NCAA Division 3 program. The women’s program finished with a top 10 NCAA Division 3 national ranking in 2007 and was ranked # 1 in the country for the majority of the 2008 season. In 2003-04, Williams became the first NCAA member institution ever ranked first nationally in both academics, by U.S. News and World Report; and athletics, by earning the U.S. Sports Academy Directors' Cup. During Huffman's tenure at Williams, two women's team players earned NCAA Division III All-American honors while four of Coach Huffman’s men’s players received All-American honors as well. Four of his men’s players have since moved on to play in the professional ranks. These players include:
**Alex Blake-MLS Colorado Rapids 03' season and USL First Division Rochester Rhinos 04' season
**Khari Stephenson- Drafted by the Chicago Fire in the 2004 MLS Draft but played for the Kansas City Wizards in 2004 and 2005. Played in Sweden for GAIS in 2006 and for AIK in 2007 and part of 2008. Khari currently plays for Aalesunds FK, who play in the Norwegian Premier League.
**Josh Bolton-USL First Division Rochester Rhinos 06' and 07’ seasons and Atlanta Silverbacks 08’ season
**Nick Armington- MLS Real Salt Lake-Summer of 2006
Huffman also served as the Men's Junior Varsity coach during the fall 2002 season at Williams, where he got his first taste of coaching against quality Junior College soccer as he orchestrated a road victory over Hudson Valley Community College, a New York-based Division III community college power.
W-League Experience
The W-League is widely considered THE top women’s professional league in the United States. In 2008, the W-League had 41 teams spanning the entire country. In the spring and summer of 2001 while working an office job in Northern Virginia, Coach Huffman was able to land a volunteer assistant position with the local W-League and U-18 Super Y League Northern Virginia Majestic’s squads. During his stint there, the U-18 Super Y League squad won a national championship. Simultaneously, Huffman worked alongside Coach Hank Leung, a former U-19 National Team coach when former U.S. stars Mia Hamm, Julie Foudy and Kristine Lilly were rising through the national team system.
“My office position in Northern Virginia lasted only 13 months but I am so thankful for the opportunity Coach Leung extended to me. In retrospect, I should have taken advantage of the opportunity more so than I did but never the less, I was very thankful for the opportunity to work with players of that caliber.”
CAMPS/COACHING LICENSES AND CERTIFICATIONS
Coach Huffman opened his own coaching career in 2000 at the age of 23, when he served as a summer staff instructor with Dan Gaspar's Star Goalkeeper Academy. Gaspar, known as one of the top goalkeeper clinicians in the U.S., has served as goalkeeper coach for Benfica, one of Europe’s most powerful club programs. Huffman became a licensed coach through the United States Soccer Federation in the summer of 2001. In the summer of 2002 in San Diego, Coach Huffman received his NSCAA National Diploma and went back to San Diego in 2003 and received his Advanced National Diploma. In between, Coach Huffman received his State (Level 1) and Regional Goalkeeper Diploma (Level 2). Since the summer of 2002, Coach Huffman has been a staff instructor-at one time or another- with many Division 1 programs that offer summer soccer camps to youths. The networking and contacts Coach Huffman has made with other college coaches working these camps will have and will continue to be beneficial to his GCCC players in the long run. These camps have included ones at Rutgers, Clemson, Wake Forest, Maryland, University of Alabama-Birmingham and the University of Massachusetts.
SCHOOLING/PLAYING CAREER
Coach Huffman was a three year varsity high school starter at the goalkeeper position for Hedgesville High School (West Virginia) from the 1992-1994 seasons. He was a Herald-Mail First Team All Area pick (32 teams) his senior season, while also playing in the prestigious West Virginia All Star Game---a game that saw the best high school seniors in the state compete in it. At the club level he earned West Virginia State Cup championships in the U-19 age category in the summers of 1995 and 1996. He was a goalkeeper at NCAA Division III Marymount University (VA) in the fall of 1995, then transferred to Hagerstown Community College (MD) for the fall season of 1996.
Huffman graduated from Shepherd University (West Virginia) in December of 1998 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and a minor in Economics. Huffman completed an internship as assistant director of ticket operations, from January through September 1999, with the Salem Avalanche Minor League Baseball Team of the Carolina League. He returned to school in the spring of 2000 and finished his associate in arts degree in management at Hagerstown Community College, a member of the Region 20 Maryland conference for community colleges.
|
