On May 24, the Revere Girls Lacrosse team faced the Wooster Generals and won a tight game 19-13. This game was special for the whole team but especially for now junior lacrosse player Bentley Huffman. Varsity player Huffman scored her 100th goal as a sophomore with five minutes and thirty seconds left in the playoff game. As the ball struck the back of the net, all the girls ran to celebrate Huffman’s outstanding accomplishment. After the game, there were pictures taken with balloons to recognize her milestone in her lacrosse career.
Huffman is involved in school. She is a part of the Student Council, Mission of a minuteman, and Art Club At Revere High School (RHS). She is a high school student athlete and will continue that tradition into her college experience. She recently committed to Kent State University to play collegiate lacrosse and to pursue her academics. Huffman is undecided in her major although she wants to major in pre-law or criminology, at Kent State. She has been playing lacrosse since fifth grade, which is seven years and counting.
Huffman wears jersey number 17 and plays midfield for the RHS Girls Lacrosse team. She competes in the draw for the women’s Varsity team, the draw is a restart after every goal in the duration of a game. One player from each team faces alone in the circle with two of their teammates on the outside. This tactic is after every goal and also at the beginning of a game. Huffman also has started varsity since her Freshman year.
“If I didn’t play midfield I would play defense,” Huffman said.
Huffman runs back and forth from defense and offense during a regular lacrosse game, but she would want to play straight defense as playing defense brings her more joy.
“Defense [is] more fun, and the things you do for the team make a big impact,” She said.
Huffman receives a high draw average and her goal frequency is high. Huffman has played on a number of club lacrosse teams including Burning River, Maxim and, most recently, Impact.
”I enjoy Impact. I feel like a lot of the skills I learned went more in-depth at Impact; I believe my basics improved,” Huffman said.
She recently switched clubs from Maxim to Impact, where she plays higher level competition, is exposed to college coaches and also is coached differently.
“I felt like the coaching style itself was different and I re-learned my basic skills and became stronger. And I feel like I just have a better awareness on the field and I’m able to use that for all sorts of skills. I think that playing with people who are better than me helped me want to be better, and it helped me build up my skills,” Huffman said.
Throughout her club experiences, she has also played lacrosse with her younger sister Ella Huffman. She is a freshman at RHS and practices with Bentley in their off seasons.
“I think we have bonded over lacrosse because we have played on so many teams together and we practice [together],” her sister said.
The sisters bonded over their interest in the same sport; when they were younger, their mom Kristy Huffman made them both start lacrosse in fifth grade.
“When Bentley stopped competitive gymnastics she was a bit lost and needed an activity to channel all that energy into. Both Ella and Bentley tried horseback riding, art classes, cooking, swimming [and] archery. One of the activities was a week-long lacrosse camp held by the RHS [Girl’s] Lacrosse Team. I made Bentley go,” her mom said.
Huffman grew up on lacrosse, and her mom was invested in the sport almost as much as she was. Kristy Huffman worked as team manager for Huffman’s youth team. Over the years, Huffman’s love and interest for the sport grew and she became a stronger player as the years passed.
On November 11 2024, Huffman announced her verbal commitment to Kent State University to continue lacrosse at a D1 level. She talked to multiple schools before she settled on Kent State.
”I have always wanted to play; it’s always been a goal of mine to play college lacrosse. My dad played college football and my grandpa got recruited to play college football too, but did not end up going. I wanted to follow [in] their footsteps,” Huffman said.
The recruiting process was long for Huffman, and there were many emotions that came with it.
“Bentley’s commitment process was an onion. There were layers to that process. She went through the top layer and slowly to the center and received the prize,” her sister said.
Huffman’s family are proud of her for her accomplishments, although it was not easy and there was a lot of training that came with her achievements.
“The recruiting process was pretty stressful. Trying to help Bentley pick the right school for her was hard. Bentley’s dad (Ryan) and I took her to several recruitment showcases and camps as well as a few National tournaments that were tryout based,” her mom said.
Bentley works hard, in the off season. She worked diligently towards her commitment process, but also her and her sister workout together and work on skills for the upcoming seasons.
“Ella and I work out all the time; I do my plyometrics and our sprints and then we go and practice on the turf,” Huffman said.
Huffman’s journey in lacrosse showcases her dedication, talent, and love for the sport. From scoring her 100th goal as a sophomore to committing to play Division 1 lacrosse at Kent State in her junior year, she has proven herself to be a remarkable athlete. Her hard work on and off the field and her strong bond with her sister highlight the importance of family and perseverance in achieving her dreams.
