Ben Huff was a tri-sport athlete at Wakefield High School. Huff excelled on the golf course, played tennis and was part of the school’s first non-varsity sport hockey team. Huff was not your typical Warrior athlete though as he was enrolled in the H-B Woodlawn Secondary Program, an alternative all-county public school in Arlington.
According to the school’s Web site, “the central focus of the system is student choice. Students make choices in three general areas, use of time and personal behavior, educational goals and school governance.”
The school does not have a sports program and thus allows students to play at their home school. For Huff, that was Wakefield.
“It was kind of fun to have two schools you felt part of,” Huff said. H-B is a selective program as students are enrolled after being selected in a lottery.
Huff will take his athletic talents to the College of William & Mary in the fall. He will major in economics or graphic design and hopes to work for an oil scouting land company upon graduation. Huff said he has spoken with the Tribe coaching staff, and he plans on walking on the Tribe’s golf team. His handicap is six.
The 18-year-old and Alexandria native’s true passion is hockey as he has played the fast-paced sport for nearly nine years. Huff played on Howard County’s Howard Huskies for a number of years and then took his talents to Wakefield and Washington-Lee’s combined club team this past year.
“It was fun but it was a little below my skill level,” said Huff, who plays goalie. While at William and Mary he will also be part of the college’s hockey team.
Off the athletic field, Huff was a member of the National Honor Society and sang in the school’s choir.
Huff was the team captain on Wakefield’s golf team and snagged an 8th place finish this year at the National District tournament, advancing to the Northern Region tournament where he had the second best district score but failed to make the Virginia AAA state tournament.