Some people struggle to find their “niche” in life; others, like Middletown High School senior Alex Hoffman, fall right into it.

Hoffman, having recently signed a binding Letter of Intent to play golf for the University of Memphis, is now able to reflect on his long junior golf career.                      

 “I’ve always wanted to play golf at the next level. I started playing when I was 3; by about 9 or so, I knew that I wanted to play in college.”

Under the tutelage of his father, an assistant teaching professional at Beaver Creek Country Club in Hagerstown, Md., Hoffman quickly showed that he had a knack for the game, winning local tournaments while he was still in elementary school.

 “My dad lived near Black Rock in Hagerstown, so that’s where I started out, and that’s where I found my game,” said Hoffman.

By the time Hoffman was in middle school, it was a foregone conclusion that he would play high school golf; it was playing collegiately that he was really eyeing.

As a freshman on the MHS team, Hoffman posted impressive scores, and along with then-senior Tyler Ausherman, helped lead the squad to a solid record and state tournament appearance.

His freshman performance garnered some local attention, but NCAA regulations deterred college recruiters from contacting a then-15-year-old Hoffman.

“As a player, if I was good enough to run into one, I could talk to any college coach one-on-one whenever I wanted to; but coaches can’t ‘contact’ players officially until after their sophomore year,” explained Hoffman.

Hoffman’s sophomore year was his first as the team’s no. 1 golfer, and he met, and later exceeded, expectations. Battling through the local qualifying rounds, Hoffman captured Middletown’s first individual state championship.

Hoffman’s Cinderella run to the state championship upped his recruiting rank to around 800, but he began to realize that, unless he seriously improved his stock, his dream-school, Florida, was probably out of reach.

“I figured that with a ranking of about 800, and being an out-of-stater, Florida probably wasn’t even going to look at me,” said Hoffman.

Attempting to forget about his ranking, Hoffman entered his junior season with only one goal in mind: repeat as state champion.

Despite his status as the top returning high school player in Maryland, Hoffman was unable to meet his own lofty expectations, finishing out of contention in states.

Unfortunately for Hoffman, his failure to repeat cost him in the NCAA recruiting rankings, as he plummeted to around 1600.

Already under a barrage of interest from colleges around the country, Hoffman tried to weed through the slightly interested schools to find what he called “the diehards.”

“The first two schools to contact me were Coastal (Carolina) and Maryland, but they didn’t really keep after during my junior and senior years as much as some other schools,” said Hoffman, “UVA (Virginia) was definitely a diehard, along with Memphis later on.”  Florida never materialized as an option.

Even with offers from Division-1 schools on the table, Hoffman decided that he would use the time he had left to raise his stock even further.

From Aug. 20 of his junior year to Aug. 20 of his senior year, Hoffman skyrocketed up the recruiting rankings.

Hoffman credits his tremendous rise to his play in the offseason: “I had some good summer tournaments that pushed me up from about 1600 into the top 100.”

In his attempt to garner attention from the top golf programs in the nation, Hoffman caught the eye of the Memphis coaching staff. Hoffman’s relatively low ranking from the summer before intrigued Memphis, who had been watching him since his state championship.

“I think Memphis pegged me as an ‘under-the-radar’ type of guy,” said Hoffman, “I don’t really think that they expected me to be interested in them.”

Entering his senior season, Hoffman once again was presented with an opportunity to sit back on his heels. But he decided that, despite his high ranking, he would push for a second state title.

Like many senior student-athletes, Hoffman was forced to balance the demands of his sport and his schoolwork, all while attempting to choose the school that he would play for at the next level.

This balancing act brought out the best in Hoffman, as he captured his second individual championship while leading the MHS squad to its very first team championship.

With the season now in the rearview window, Hoffman was able to fully focus on narrowing his college choices.

“I had already decided way before my senior year that I didn’t want to go to any northern schools,” Hoffman said. “The farthest school north that I looked at was Louisville.” 

Knocking his choices down to four, Memphis, Ole Miss, UNC-Charlotte, and Augusta State, Hoffman decided it was time to check out Memphis’s campus for himself.

Hoffman’s visit to Memphis was a good one, eventually leading to his decision to sign a LOI with the Tigers just two weeks before National Signing Day.

Hoffman pointed to Memphis’s reputation as a college town as a contributing factor in his final decision. “A couple of players from the team had taken me out to lunch, and some other people saw that they were wearing team shirts, and yelled ‘Go Tigers!’ to us as we were sitting there. I could tell they really cared about the school,” he said.

Having finished the arduous process of deciding on a collegiate program, Hoffman is now focusing on staying in shape. The Memphis coaches didn’t institute a concrete workout regiment for him, but they made it pretty obvious that it was key to maintain his physical fitness level.

“They made it clear that I should hit the weight room and to make sure I ran,” said Hoffman.

From golfing as a toddler to starting his junior career, from the MHS squad to the University of Memphis, one can only wonder what the next step is for Hoffman. All that is certain is that he’s found his niche.