Typically in high school athletics, the best players are seniors, who have played the game for many years and have had more time than others to learn the program. Fortunately for the RHS soccer team, their strong seniors are backed by a very talented junior class. Rhys Proffitt is one of those talented juniors.

Rhys has been playing soccer now for twelve years.

“I started when I was five years old playing for Optimist. My dad really got me into it, and from then on I just joined the Knights and I’ve been playing ever since,” Proffitt said.

Proffitt is the starting left back for the bulldogs.

“Basically, I’m there to stop any wingers from the other team to get by and score a goal. I’m supposed to be feeding the midfield and the strikers,” Proffitt said.

Proffitt plays soccer all year round and is on several highly competitive teams.

“I play in the spring and winter in St. Louis. Plus, in the winter, I played in Springfield for Scott Gallager and I also tried out for Sporting Springfield,” Proffitt said.

Due to his on and off the field success, Rhys has also been in contact with several colleges.

“Yeah, I plan on playing in college. I don’t know which one yet, but I’ve been going to a lot of camps and talking to a lot of coaches. I have talked to the UMKC coach and S&T coach,” Proffitt said.

Before he can move on to college, Proffitt has to continue to dominate high school soccer. When asked what to expect this season, Proffitt simply said, “We will go pretty far.”