Jim Thorpe’s Thor Huth left it all on the field

He’s one tough soccer player.

Opponents often triple-teamed him when he crossed in front of the goal mouth, and if they prevented him from taking a shot with his feet, this Jim Thorpe senior used his head, literally, to direct the ball into the net.

He played every minute of every game with the same mindset — do everything you can to score a goal.

Thor Huth is the 2019 Times News/Lehigh Valley Health Network Boys Soccer Player of the Year.

Even when he was small in size, Huth played big.

“Until I had a growth spurt and grew 6 inches, I stood 5-4 as the defensive midfielder where a lot of air balls are kicked,” he said. “I could outjump players much taller than me and get my head to the ball.”

“Thor scored a lot of goals playing striker as a freshman for our JV team,” said Olympian coach Mike Dudak, “but as a sophomore playing varsity, I put him in the middle of the field because he was excellent at playing over the top.”

Dudak said that Huth “had no fear” going up against bigger and older opponents. “He won most of the balls in the air.”

Huth, who has kicked a soccer ball competitively since he was 5 years old, was moved back to the striker position in the 2018 season, and this year he led Thorpe to its first ever Schuylkill League championship. He finished his regular-season career at JT with 34 goals and 24 assists, including 16 goals this past fall.

“When we first put Thor into a varsity striker position, he was a little hesitant to shoot,” Dudak said. “He was used to distributing the ball from midfield. Once he got comfortable around the net, he became an excellent scorer for us.”

“Comfortable around the net” was the result of Huth’s very physical play that was not always appreciated by game officials. Before this season, he had multiple yellow card warnings and several red card ejections.

This year, however, he “matured,” according to Dudak, and in Huth’s his own words, he had to stop taking penalties and putting his team at a disadvantage.

“I was selected to be a team captain, and part of being a leader is not to miss minutes or entire games,” he said. “I had to be careful not to intentionally tackle an opponent and not to do anything dirty.”

Huth scored three more times during Jim Thorpe’s postseason run. His favorite goal was the “rainbow” he tallied against Pine Grove in the league championship game.

“Pine Grove scored an early goal, but my best friend, Alex Putt, tied the game about 30 seconds later,” he recalled. “Then came my ‘rainbow.’ ”

“Thor was definitely on his game during big moments. When the pressure was on, he was very creative with the ball,” said Dudak.

The goal Huth scored against Pine Grove was a looping kick that sailed above the outstretched goalkeeper and into the net. He then assisted on JT’s next goal to help his team post a 4-2 victory.

“Thor plays club and travel ball,” said Dudak. “He eats and sleeps soccer, and his skills make him unpredictable. He’s a scoring threat every time he gets the ball.”

Huth’s signature soccer move this season was a quick burst past defenders to take close shots. At times, with his speed rush, he crashed into goalkeepers who stepped out to block his shot or had tried to swipe the ball away.

He was voted MVP of the Olympians in his sophomore year. He was selected as a first team Schuylkill League All Star as a junior. This year, he was an All State Schuylkill League selection.

You won’t find many others who carry his first name. “Thor” was chosen by his father, whose best friend had wanted the name for his own son if he were to have one. But he died in a car accident when Huth’s father was 19 years old and never got the chance.

In Greek mythology, Thor is the god of thunder. Huth has lived up to that description on the soccer field with his “loud” style of play and a heavy kick that ripped into the twine at the back of the net a total of 19 times this year when you combine regular season and postseason numbers.

He plans on continuing his playing career at the college level. He will carry the same drive to win along with his physical skill that has helped Jim Thorpe reach an unprecedented level of soccer success during his career.

Huth offered advice for young players who are just beginning to play soccer.

“When you play the game, you give it all you have,” he said. “Never give up, no matter how tired you get. One way or another, it works out because you’ll never have regret if you leave it all on the field.”

For Jim Thorpe’s Thor Huth, “giving it all he has” earned him the title of Soccer Player of the Year.