Tim Fitt – One Goal at a Time
Brittany Eads
(310) 804-7245
britteads@gmail.com
Tim Fitt
Provo, Utah (April 21, 2009) — BYU freshman recruit Tim Fitt always thought his future would be spent playing another kind of fútbol.
“I always planned on playing American football,” Fitt laughs. “I wanted to stay in my comfort zone so I didn’t take soccer too seriously, but I realized this was want I wanted to do after I scored my first goal. It’s become the reason I play.”
Fitt played for 10 years in public leagues before joining Sparta United, a club team based in Salt Lake City. He would next play for the Utah Olympic Development Program (ODP) and later the Salt Lake Real Youth Team.
“What I really wanted was to play for myself,” Fitt says of making the transition to soccer full-time. “It’s become my passion. I realized soccer was more than a game; it was a lifestyle that I craved. If I go more than a few days without playing I feel like I’m going to die.”
Throughout his soccer career, Fitt has constantly motivated himself to make specific goals he will be able to attain throughout the year or even in an upcoming game, all in order to better himself as a player.
“Every year I would determine how far I wanted to go in ODP, or game by game how many goals I wanted to score,” Fitt says. “I also set specific goals about which camps I wanted to go to–and BYU was always up there.”
Fitt was drawn to BYU through such camps, and made it a point to keep in touch with the coaching staff to show his commitment to playing for the Cougar squad. Being a recruit, Fitt notes that he attended this year’s team tryouts to prove that he deserves to be on the team just as much as any returning player.
As a member of the LDS church, he also lists an additional draw to playing for BYU: the general team and campus environment.
“Playing on club teams, I have seen the chaos that can arise on teams that don’t get along,” he says. “It is so exciting to play where there is no vulgarity, swearing, or uncomfortable situations. And there’s no chance that I’ll have to play on Sundays.”
Having high standards for himself on and off the soccer field is a major part of Fitt’s life, and he has made at least one more goal in devoting himself to both exceptional soccer and community service.
“The reason I play soccer is to make everyone proud to know me as a player,” Fitt says “But I try to do my best to give back to the community so I can also make them proud to know me as a person.”
