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Tanner Huddleston’s

The Source

Tanner Huddleston’s dreams of becoming a basketball player were nearly deflated before his career had begun. He said, “My brother Tyler and I had a basketball hoop on the closet door in our room and he was always banging me around. Mom was always having to rush in to make sure I was still alive.” On one particularly rowdy evening his mother Marsha had enough of the noise and mayhem and when the two boys went to look for their ball the next morning they found that someone had popped their ball. “It was my favorite ball,” said Tanner. But the slender, well-mannered Triopia senior gives credit to his family for encouraging his success in sports. This season the youngest Huddleston scored 1058 points in basketball and threw 17 touchdown passes as quarterback of the Trojan football team. “We all support and love each other,” he said. “Mom didn’t always know what was going on in the games but got me through some tough times.” He adds, “I love my brothers, and I owe everything to my them. They really roughed me up when we used to play ball at home. There wasn’t a day in the summertime when we weren’t playing. “ Tanner is the son of Jim Huddleston of Mt. Sterling and Marsha Homer of Chapin. Big brothers Travis and Tyler, eight and four years his elder, were the ones who toughened him up at the backyard court in Chapin. He enjoys a close relationship with both of his parents. “Dad and I go out once a week to eat and it’s great talking to him,” he added. “We talk or text almost every day.” The natural facial expression for many teenagers might be a smirk or blank stare. Tanner’s face automatically defaults to a smile and he modestly hesitates when talking about his athletic accomplishments. “I’ve got great friends,” he said. “At Triopia we’re like family. We have each other’s back.” Now that he’s completed his final seasons in football and basketball he’s looking forward to going home after school. “Sports are okay, but there’s more to life,” he said. This year’s Homecoming King and a member of last year’s prom court, Huddleston enjoys the social scene at Triopia as well as the ballgames. “Life around Triopia, once you get here, is always a good day. We’re family,” he said. Josh Millard of Arenzville is one of Huddleston’s best friends, and he describes as “a guy who’s pretty composed.” Millard says his friend shows a natural confidence on the football field and the basketball court. “He’s pretty laid back.” Josh added that Tanner is a loyal friend. Triopia Spanish & Media teacher, Patty Clinton, describes him as, “one of those kids who’ll naturally smile at you when you see him in the hallways.” Illinois College freshman John Love has played competitive sports with Huddleston since the boys’ Jr. High days. Love describes his former teammate as having a “winning mentality.” He said that Huddleston is a natural leader, and “one of the smoothest athletes I’m known.” One of Tanner’s friendships goes all the way back to Pre-kindergarten. Derrek Schone, another Triopia senior headed to college this fall, said, “We used to play hockey with a doll, a mop and a broom. We still hang out about every night.” Schone said that his friend Tanner is, “the guy you want to be.” Triopia’s head football coach, Rich Thompson, describes him as “the kind of athlete that just gets it. When you ask him to do something he has it and does it, no questions asked.” Thompson said that Tanner makes things look easy. “If I could describe Tanner in one word, it would have to be ‘smooth.’” Huddleston plans to enroll at Lincoln Land Springfield next fall with friend and future roommate Cody Curry, then move on to a larger university to study business with an emphasis on agriculture. “I want to do well there,” he said, “to put me in good shape when I transfer to a bigger school.” His brother Travis is an area representative for AgriGold seeds and his football defensive coach, Andy Phelps, is also a district rep. “He’s a good kid,” said Phelps, and points to Tanner’s work ethic as being his major asset. “Tanner will give anything you ask of him.” The young Trojan points to the early morning weight lifting sessions at Triopia as a place where his coach would build his confidence. “And coach would always send me encouraging messages. That really helped.” As with any good coach, Phelps knows that helping his players get through a loss is sometimes the toughest part of the job. Tanner remembers the end of the Triopia season after they’d plunged their way through several playoff games last season then came up short of the state championship game. “Andy said he was proud of me and the way I’d worked this season. That meant a lot.” When Tanner smiles his eyes disappear, and he squinted that grin as he said, “I plan to try out for the basketball team at Lincoln Land. Maybe I’ll make the team.” With a high school career of 1058 points he might just send in a resume instead.