Altitude Builders

Football is a global sport, not to forget a highly competitive one as well. Millions of young individuals aspire to one day become professional football players themselves, and out of those, only a few are truly able to achieve what they seek. So, what does it take for a player to stand out among the rest and make a name for himself? Most kids start their journey from football academies, hoping one day their talent will speak for themselves, and the coach will give them the chance to pursue their dreams. However, the reality is far from this. Statistics show that out of all the kids who enter football academy at the age of 9, only less than half of 1% are able to play it professionally and make a living out of it. These numbers are extremely sober. The most damning stats of all is that out of 1.5 million players who play organized youth football in England, only 180 of them make it as Premier League Pros. That’s a success rate of 0.012%. Given the situation, we can only hope that the only players who get selected at the academy level are special and are the very best of the lot. Truitt Battin, 6 ft and 178 lbs young midfielder from Saint Charles East is not what you call special; he is rare. According to his coaches, “A talented kid like Battins is not something we see every day.” But what makes him special? What made him different from all the other around him? When Battin started his professional career in Europe, the first thing he was immediately given credit for is his vision, speed, and fast legs, which are three of the essential components for any midfielder in today’s day and age. However, the story doesn’t end there. He plays at one of the most challenging positions in the game of football – the Left-Wing. His job is to provide accurate crosses to players in the middle and make sure he does it frequently. In world football, these positions have only been truly mastered by two players, Frank Ribery from France and Cristiano Ronaldo from Portugal, and arguably one of the best players in the world. It is said that greatness follows greatness. Truitt Battin has set some high standards for himself to live up to, given the type of players he idolizes. However, dreams and ambitions can only get you so far in life; a player also needs to have the talent that shines on the field and be ready to put in the hard work that helps him perform. When he steps on the football field, his goal is to get the victory for his team. In an interview, he said, “In my three years on the varsity, my role has been about leadership and helping the team.” An attitude like this shows ambition and commitment to the badge on the chest. He is one of the few players in the team who is able to cut in and out left and right with the ball and being able to shoot at any time. Battin also has a tough and demand training regime where he trains in off-seasons as well. He established himself as an attacking threat due to having both feet and speed with and without the ball. He says, “I've had both feet equally as good for some time now, and it is due to the training developed over the last five years.” In 2013, Truitt spent his summers playing for youth clubs overseas, more recently in Belgrade, Serbia. It was not the first time Truitt was eyed by another academy or club in his career. In fact, Truitt is currently playing Professional soccer in Croatia but has played in Switzerland for FC Sion and in Serbia for Red Star and FK Partizan, where he started his professional soccer career. He is also 1 of 7 USA pro FIFA soccer players playing in Europe, which is a huge achievement for any young football talent. His talent is appreciated all across Europe and is often invited to Europe every summer to play pro for Red Star, FK Partizan, and some other teams. All these credentials indicate that Truitt Battin is a once in a lifetime talent who is meant to achieve greatness. Regardless of how he grows as a player on and off the field, he would still be the six-year-old who loves football more than anything.