P&G

PURPLE & GOLD

Rare is the multi-generational presence for a program barely 30 years old. But Billy Huffman (’92) and his son Willy (’21) are precisely such a pair, both proud members of the CBHS lacrosse program.

As a sophomore in 1990, Billy Huffman suited up for the very first Purple Wave lacrosse team, at the time one of only six clubs in the state of Tennessee. (Germantown High School and MUS each fielded teams, there were two in Chattanooga, and one in Nashville.) Having played more mainstream sports like football and basketball as a youth, Billy gravitated to the camaraderie the nascent lacrosse program provided.

“Back when I played, it was organized,” reflects Billy, “but more organized chaos than anything.” Billy’s older brother, Rob (CBHS ’83), had played club lacrosse at the University of Tennessee, so while the sport was new to Christian Brothers, there was a degree of familiarity for Billy. He knew how to hold a stick.

“A lot of my teammates had parents who had transferred here [from the Northeast] with International Paper,” explains Billy, who today sells IT hardware for LSI. “They brought lacrosse with them. I don’t remember lacrosse anywhere in Memphis at that time. We learned as we went. Back then, it was a stick in your hands, just trying to catch the ball.”

As the program took shape in the Nineties, Billy and his teammates made the most out of very little when it came to resources. “We couldn’t practice on campus,” he says. “We’d get in our cars and have a caravan to Shelby Farms to practice each day. It was fun, a new sport, and it was exciting.”

With an ability to find the net, Billy played attack for coach Mike Deutsch. “We got better as each year went along,” says Billy in an understatement. The Purple Wave won its first (and still only) state title in 1995, the program’s sixth year of existence. “[Coach Deutsch] put up with a lot of inexperienced knuckleheads. He really organized the team.”

There was an off-the-radar quality to playing lacrosse 30 years ago, and it still hasn’t caught up with the likes of football or basketball in the Mid-South. But Billy need only look across his dinner table to see lax’s growing impact. “Nowadays, you have two-sport athletes playing [lacrosse],” he says. “Athletes are buying in. Real athletes, from football, basketball and other sports.”

Willy Huffman is one of those twosport athletes. He spent his time in the fall playing safety and wide receiver for the CBHS football team, but contributed enough to the lacrosse program to be named captain as a senior. A defenseman,

Willy — who began playing lacrosse in third grade — finds the hard contact a good fit for his 6’1”, 185-lb. frame. “Some lacrosse kids didn’t play football growing up,” says Willy. “There can be some violent hits; it’s kind of like hockey. You can hit somebody, but legally.”

As for learning the finer points of lacrosse, Willy didn’t have to travel far, and his early lessons were free. “My dad taught me how to cradle,” says Willy, who notes the skills of handling a lacrosse stick don’t easily translate from other sports. He played both baseball and lacrosse during his childhood spring seasons, but found lacrosse the better fit by the time he arrived at CBHS. “My favorite part of lacrosse is that it’s a game of momentum,” says Willy. “It can switch from good to bad, and you get adrenaline from it. It’s exciting.”

Still a niche sport by some measures, lacrosse brings rewards that Willy is convinced will continue to attract young athletes across the country. “I like the way lacrosse has its own community,” he says, “but I think it should be more mainstream. It’s a lot more fun than some mainstream sports. I enjoy watching it, too.”

Willy’s dad — specifically Billy’s playing days with the Purple Wave — comes up now and then among the current players. “I still have my dad’s old varsity jacket,” notes Willy, “and I get a lot of compliments, because it’s old-school, and pretty cool. I tried to wear his number (10), but it was already taken, so I wear 24.”

“Willy is a very hardnosed, physical defender,” says Coach Collin Welsh, who just completed his eighth season with the CBHS program. “He’s really evolved into a leader this season. As a threeyear varsity starter, Willy came into the season with high expectations for both the team and himself, and has been leading by example in an effort to set a proper tone for practice and games. Off the field, he’s a very well-liked student with a big friend group that dates back to middle school. Willy has truly gotten the most out of his CBHS experience and has worn the purple and gold proudly.”

“We’re super proud of him,” echoes Billy of his favorite defenseman. “Willy’s quick, he’s physical. And he’s a good leader. He grew up going to Christian Brothers football games, and watching CBHS lacrosse. He’s right where he wants to be.

“The commitment level of sports in high school today is a lot different from what it was for me. These kids get up at 6:30 a.m. to work out. They come home after school then have to get back to practice from 7 to 9 p.m. It’s a lot of fun for parents, too, especially the road trips.”

Willy will follow in his father’s footsteps with another adventure this fall when he enrolls at the University of Tennessee. He doesn’t plan on playing lacrosse in Knoxville, but that leadership Coach Welsh mentioned? It should bring value, particularly as the world emerges from a pandemic.

“It’s been tough at times,” acknowledges Willy. “With lacrosse, you need a lot of energy, for that momentum. It can be hard for a whole group of people to get energy. But I have a lot of confidence. [The energy] comes easy for me as a leader.” • — Frank Murtaugh