Soccer: East's Truitt Battin aspires to make a name for himself abroad

ST. CHARLES – Before Truitt Battin was born, his parents couldn't decide on a name.

A newspaper article on Chick-fil-A founder S. Truett Cathy changed everything.

"My parents liked the name, as well as he [was] a good Christian guy, so that's how I got my name," Battin said after scoring three goals in St. Charles East's 4-1 victory over Downers Grove North on Monday.

Saints freshman forward Sebastian Carranza scored the other goal to help the Saints cruise to their first victory of the season. The Saints' back line did a stellar job limiting the Trojans to limited scoring opportunities all night. Alessandro Karrow had the Trojans' lone goal in the second half.

Battin's first name is certainly a notable story to tell. He aspires to make a name for itself abroad.

The senior midfielder has plans to graduate from St. Charles East early and pursue a professional soccer career in Europe. Battin has travelled to Serbia for the summer over the past five years, and trains with a coach he came in contact with during a stint with a club team.

"Right now, there's four pro teams that want me over there," Battin said, mentioning the Red Star Belgrande or FK Partizan franchises as examples. "My goal is to play for one of those [teams] as a starting point. Then, obviously move up from there. So, God [has] given me great opportunities."

Battin, 17, has long dreamed of playing professional soccer. Balancing a possible future career while finishing high school presents pressure-filled situation, but Battin doesn't necessarily view it that way.

"It's [in] God's hands," Battin, who has a number of agents looking at him, said. "So whatever happens, happens for a reason. I just do my best everyday, [and] work hard."

Last season, Battin was named to the Kane County Chronicle All-Area soccer team, scoring 12 goals and had three assists. Battin is a three-year varsity player and was fifth in all-state voting.

"We've been kind of moving him around...he's dynamic, he's good on the ball," East coach Vince DiNuzzo said. "[He] created a lot going forward [tonight] and shared the ball, which I was pleased to see."

Saints senior defender Grayson Biddle has played with Battin since fourth grade, and noted there's not much fanfare in the form of pictures regarding Battin's training.

"He doesn't really talk about it," Biddle said of Battin's exposure. "He's pretty humble about it, and he's just doing all that work behind the curtain to make things happen for him."