Madison Comprehensive High School graduate and Mansfield native Taylor Huff won a Division II high school state championship with the Rams in 2020 and was named the United Soccer Coaches National Player of the Year.
She lead the midfield of the undefeated Florida State national championship squad in 2023 and has been called into U.S. women’s national team camps at the U-16, U-20 and now again at the U-23 level.
Huff was signed by Bay FC of the NWSL in Jan. and has started all three games as a rookie. Here’s an update, in her own words, about being coached by the nation’s best, adjusting to the pro game and even a little advice for all the young player in mid Ohio that want to reach their sporting dreams.
VIDEO INTERVIEW:
Adam Doc Fox: I’m going to be respectful of your time. Jump right in. You just got back from camp, U-23 camp. How’d it go in a general sense? And then I know you’re going to be humble, but do you feel like you killed it, did a good job? Tell me about camp, please.
TAYLOR HUFF: Yeah, no, it was great. I think the head coaches of the USA women’s national team, Emma Hayes, is doing such a good job at kind of bringing us along, because obviously I’m with the U-23s, so I’m a step below the full team. But I do feel like what they’re practicing in their games is translating to our camps.
So she’s wanting to get the same style of play as like the full team is doing, so learning those principles in the way they’re playing and kind of applying it and learning it throughout the past two camps has been kind of cool to see, just getting to learn it and then watch it because I got to watch the game in LA live at the stadium, and then I’ll get to watch the next game because it’s actually in San Jose.
So just getting to go to camp and being called in is an honor in and of itself, but getting to train under the amazing coaching staff and with the players that they call in is also such a great opportunity.
ADF: Yeah, that’s awesome. I want to get into some tactics in in a minute, because I’ve been watching Bay and I’m like, okay. I generally want to want to dork out on some soccer in a minute. But I got to ask you about about the rookie start. So transitioning from the national team, you know, you’re at Bay. Just walk me through, I know that there isn’t a traditional draft and and that’s kind of changed, but there was a moment when you realized like, okay, I am signing with this team and I’m about to go pro. Just walk me through that experience.
HUFF: I’m obviously very grateful for the people in the past who kind of made it where there’s no draft. It’s something they fought for and for the the longest time they didn’t get, but they got it this past year and just getting to experience that was different, but also at the same time, I’m grateful for it because I got to choose where I wanted to go, which is so unique.
I’m grateful for that because it’s on me if I chose the wrong team. It’s not like, oh, I got drafted and I don’t want to go there. But no, it’s been such a cool experience and Bay has kind of, I mean, it was surreal just getting to choose first off, but yeah, it’s crazy that I’m pro.
Sometimes I don’t even feel like it. It’s just doing the same thing that I’ve always done just at the level that I’ve always dreamed of.
ADF: Okay, so let’s talk about some things that you’ve always done, right? Box-to-box midfielder, you don’t really understand fatigue, I guess. You just run all over. So I want to talk about tactics, because like I said, I watched a couple games. And you’re starting, you’re taking dead balls, you got robbed of a goal.
HUFF: (laughing) Yeah, I did
ADF: So what are your instructions like, you know, break it down, give me a little tactical because when when you’re pressing, I see you as a [number] ten and when you’re back, you’re playing as a [number] six. What’s your tactical instruction and it’s got to be great to be given this freedom?
HUFF: I mean, the coaching staff has been just absolutely amazing. I’ve been given that freedom ability that I think a player like me kind of thrives under.
So I think the coaching staff has trusted in me a lot for being a rookie, which I’m obviously so thankful for because of course I had it at Tennessee and Florida State, but that was college. It was unknown if that was going to be the way I was allowed to be played in the pros. But no, I’ve just been given that ability, obviously you have to be reasonable with it, you can’t just go wherever.
But I think finding that space for me is so important and just being in that freedom role, but also there’s principles and there’s structure behind it, too. So it’s like, I can’t go wide. I think for me is like the awareness part is huge and I think that’s something that I’ve also balanced throughout my career thus far is, yeah, I love freedom, but I’ve also done it in a way that it’s not hurting the team if I go into these these places because I’m going to defend. I’m going to get back for my team. I feel like that’s why I’ve kind of been entrusted in that as well so early.
ADF: And I did, just for the record, I saw you run up the flank a time or two in the last game. OK, tell me about season outlook because I looked at the schedule and for Ohio people, the closest is November in Louisville. But, what are your expectations? I’m sure you’ve set goals and it’s like a rookie season. And I know you said it’s kind of surreal right now. It’s what you’ve always been doing, right? Curt Conrad, who you know, gave me your number and and all that, and he’s been covering you since you were a freshman [in high school] and with Richmond Source we covered your championship game. So I understand there’s been a huge evolution and you’ve always been doing it. But what are your goals this year?
HUFF: I think for me it’s just enjoying myself and just continuing to grow. I think it’s year one in the league, so there’s always so much room for growth. So just continuing to raise my level. I feel like at each level I’ve been able to develop and grow and just see myself reach my potential even more.
So I feel like that’s my number one goal is just stay staying healthy, staying on the field and just continuing to develop and grow under the coaching staff and the players around me is huge. And then as a team, collectively, we obviously, NWSL championship is at the forefront of our minds, it’s like anything, in college you want to win a championship. It’s always looking to the biggest, the biggest trophy, the biggest achievement.
So another championship would obviously be the best to close out the season.
ADF: Right. Maybe you can get a good playoff spot in that last game. I got two more and I want to relate this a little bit to Ohio, you know, Madison, I mean, that’s all they do is make pro soccer players with you and (Ryan) Pore, right? What would you say, as there’s tons of young players, young girls and boys. What advice would you give, like to you specifically? When you’re in that 89th minute and you’re entering the pain cave and it sucks, but you don’t stop. What’s some good advice to power through to achieve those goals to keep going, that’s kind of helped mold you, because you’ve obviously been successful at every level, state champ, national champion and now pro.
HUFF: I think there’s a few things that I kind of look to when I’m going through tough times or in that 89th minute trying to press on. It’s like, I just think back to my younger self.
We do this thing in visualization with my mental performance coach, and it’s like think of yourself and your happiest memory and you’ll just like look back to that younger self and younger person. And it’s just like, you do it for them.
It’s like you spent so much time getting to where you’re at, pressing on is so much it’s so hard in the moment, but long term, it’s like, you got to do what you got to do. So I feel like just think why you started and that kind of gets me through and then also just realizing everyone around you is tired in the 89th minute, too, but they’re going to cave to the tiredness. So I try to kind of reframe it in a way where it’s like everyone around me is tired too, but just that one percent extra that hopefully I can give is just is going to be just enough. So I tried to kind of get up in that way, I think, too.
ADF: Perfect. Last question, magic wand, and your coach isn’t going to listen or anything —if you could play, and maybe it’s already where you’re playing, field commander in the center of the park, but magic wand, you can be the greatest of all time at any position, where? Maybe it’s goalie.
HUFF: I would say the 10. Honestly, if this were like three or four years ago, I would say the nine. I would say, I want to be the forward. I want to be the goal-scorer, but I think I’ve kind of found such passion for being that playmaker. And yeah, I do like to score goals and assist in those things, but I just love breaking lines and kind of just being that person who, I guess flips the game in a way.
It’s like the centerbacks do a great job at building out and then the center midfielder, you know, like connect and then the forwards score goals. But I like being that person who can, you know, like slow the tempo when it needs to be slow, but also like go full force, like, and kind of change it, go up and back. And I think I’m good at that, too.
So I’ve kind of found a balance that I like, and I I feel like I would say the ten would be the position that I would dream to be.
ADF: You play it well. I mean, when you’re pressing, it’s awesome. Thank you, perfect. I’ll follow up with links and everything and my brother got me this jersey so I don’t know, it could be the only Huff jersey in Ohio [shows Bay FC Huff jersey]. And it’s weird, you know, it’s Madison so like my cousins like know your dad and I mean, there’s a whole whatever.
HUFF: (laughing) Oh my god, yes.
ADF: As you know, right? Thanks a lot and honestly good luck this season. It’s been awesome to kind of follow a little bit. Thank you so much.
HUFF: Let me know if you need anything else.
“Bay FC, the professional soccer franchise representing the Bay Area in the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL), announced today that the club has signed three-time All-American midfielder Taylor Huff through the 2027 season with an option for 2028 campaign,” stated the Jan. press release from the club.