University of North Carolina Athletics
Senior Spotlight: Holly Huff
September 18, 2000 | Field Hockey
Sept. 18, 2000
It's a safe bet that Holly Huff doesn't get much sleep. Besides her school work (she carries a 3.8 grade point average and is working on an honors English thesis) and field hockey (she has scored four goals this season for UNC), Huff is involved with several campus organizations and is planning her May wedding. Somehow, she manages to do it all, with outstanding results.
"The trick is to focus on the task at hand," Huff says. "When I'm out at practice, I'm just a field hockey player. Other times I'm just a student or just a fiancee."
Other times she's just the co-coordinator of Carolina ACT, a mentoring program in which UNC upperclassmen help freshman student-athletes adjust to college life. Or just the president of the campus Christian Science Organization. Or just the student representative to the Atlantic Coast Conference Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. Or just a member of the prestigious Phi Beta Kappa honor society.
(Just reading all that is tiring, isn't it?)
"When you're doing things you love," Huff says, "you tend to do them well and they all get done."
Even when Huff gets the chance to sit one out, she generally declines. During the Tar Heels' game against Temple on Sept. 10, she took a stick to the nose and came away with a nasty gash. A few stitches later, she was back in the game.
Her diligence certainly is paying off on the field this season. Huff has started four of the Tar Heels six games at forward and is fourth on the team in scoring with six points. "She has worked so hard to develop into a top Division I player, and now she's reaping the rewards for all the work she has done," UNC coach Karen Shelton says. "Holly is every coach's dream. She's the hardest worker, the most enthusiastic, one of the most coachable ... she inspires a lot of superlatives."
She's just as happy to give them back. "It is an honor to be on this team," Huff says. "I think I have the best teammates, and we have the best coaches, the best staff, the best facilities. I've loved every minute of this."
