Choctaw's Hoegg named Boys Soccer Player of the Year
By TRAVIS DOWNEY
Northwest Florida Daily News
315-4476 | travisd@nwfdailynews.com
Ricky Hoegg is not a selfish soccer player.
Can he sometimes be greedy with the ball? Maybe, but even during a season in which Hoegg scored a jaw-dropping 50 goals, the Choctawhatchee standout knew to share.
"Sometimes I'm greedy, but I don't like to score all the time," Hoegg explained with a chuckle. "I love to score, but assists are good, too."
His coach Chris McDaniel can vouch for him too.
"He is a big team player," McDaniel said. "When he wasn't scoring goals, he was feeding somebody else and you never saw him complain."
Hoegg added 19 assists to his goal total and, at times, appeared to single-handedly will Choctaw to a runner-up finish in District 1-5A and an appearance in the regional quarterfinals.
Hoegg, the Indians' highly talented sophomore forward, has been named the All Sports Association/Daily News boys' Soccer Player of the Year, narrowly edging Niceville's Reed White and Jake Pratt. Following a freshman season that saw Hoegg miss extended time due to an ankle injury only to come back and play defense for the first time, Hoegg referred to his time on the other end of the field as a key factor in his development last season.
"It was hard playing defense," Hoegg said. "My whole life I've been playing forward but (McDaniel) needed me at defense last year so I moved there."
Hoegg scored six of his 12 goals for the year at defense before moving back to a more familiar post for the final five games.
"When he finally moved me back to forward, I felt back at home," Hoegg said. "It got frustrating on defense (last year) because I thought I could have scored the goals. This year was really pleasing to be able to be up there and do what I do best - score."
McDaniel believes Hoegg has a "natural instinct" for the goal.
"He's got that extra drive for the goal," McDaniel said. "He wants it more than anyone else. He's not one of these guys to sit and wait for a ball, he'll rely on himself to do it.
"He flat out doesn't like to be beat," McDaniel added. "He doesn't like to lose balls, he wants to finish every time."
More times than not, even in the face of double- and triple-teams, Hoegg did just that.
"I just went out and played the game I usually do," Hoegg said. "When I got my opportunities, I tried to capitalize on them."
