AMHERST, N.Y. – Two short years ago, Jeff Horn was one of the top players in the CHSAA, a set piece specialist who helped lead Fordham Prep to the Class A intersectional finals against Archbishop Molloy.
Now, he’s an enigma, a guy players and coaches alike wonder what happened to.
After a brief hiatus, Horn is back playing the game he loves, resurfacing and re-energized at the Empire State Games.
“I really missed being on a team, celebrating goals, having fun with my team,” Horn said. “I’m a competitive person, I like to win. This gives me a chance to do something.”
As a Fordham Prep senior, Horn was being recruited by Adelphi and the University of Albany. He liked Adelphi, coached by Carlo Acquista, but with no guarantee of a scholarship his first year, Horn went with the cheaper option and enrolled at Albany.
In the spring of his senior season, Horn played for the Blau-Weiss Gottschee Academy team, an elite squad comprised of numerous Division I players.
“I kind of lost my interest in soccer,” Horn said. “Gottschee was a big [commitment], three, four days a week, fitness practice and I was thinking if this is what college is like I don’t know if that’s what I want to do.”
He didn’t. Horn walked away from soccer in the fall, but it didn’t take long for him to second guess his decision.
“Halfway through freshman year I started missing soccer,” the Manhattan native said. “I spoke to the coach, he told me to get on a team in the summer, come by to the tryout and show me what you got. I’m trying to get fit, improve and get my touch back.”
Mirsad Huseinovic welcomed Horn with open arms on his Brooklyn Italians Under-20 squad. A coach at Xaverian, Huseinovic was familiar with Horn’s abilities, even if he was a step slower than when he last saw him.
He moved Horn to central defense, both on the Brooklyn Italians and on the New York City open men’s team in the Empire State Games.
“He’s a smart player, cuts off angles and he’s very calm with the ball at his feet,” Huseinovic said. “He’s outspoken on the field. He’s very young, but he’s a leader.”
The Empire State Games served as a perfect stepping stone for Horn. He started and played the full 90 minutes, playing three games in three days.
“It’s competitive, all the teams are good and it’s a lot of fun,” Horn said.
Horn has come a long way from when he started his comeback and he’d be sore from just kicking a ball. With the Empire State Games over, Horn will get back on the stationary bike, keep playing for the Brooklyn Italians and get ready for a late-summer tryout at Albany to earn back the opportunity he once left behind
My conditioning was the biggest thing I lost,” Horn said. “I was out of shape. Going from three, four times a week practice to running once or twice on the treadmill, playing basketball. It wasn’t that I enjoyed not playing, but I missed playing.”
If everything goes as planned, Horn won’t be missing soccer for much longer.