Back in his native Germany, Tim Hoeptner was a complimentary player on a midlevel futbol club.

As a foreign exchange student at Warren Central, Hoeptner became a star in his only season in American high school soccer.

Hoeptner, along with two other exchange students Robert Langeland of Norway and Jacob Pettersen of Sweden and the 2009 Vicksburg Post Player of the Year Erik Chappel, led the Vikings to their best season in soccer since 2001.

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The Vikings finished 15-6, won their first division title since 2001, and advanced to the Class 6A soccer quarterfinals. Hoeptner’s booming kicks from beyond the midline were a big reason for WC’s success. Thanks to his efforts in the Vikings’ ascent, he is the the 2010 player of the year.

Hoeptner said his season with the Vikings was different from his days on the pitch in Germany in several ways.

“At home, I was on a really good team, but I was not a leader. Here at Warren Central, on this team, I was kind of a leader. I never thought I get like that. It was a nice year and a new experience for me in soccer,” Hoeptner said.

WC coach Greg Head said Hoeptner’s effect was like many of the cannons that ring the Vicksburg National Military Park.

“There is saying that pretty much fits Tim as a soccer player. ‘He has a leg of a cannon with the accuracy of a rifle.’ Tim is both strong and accurate. Most of his goals came on free kicks. The goal he made at Clinton, 60 yards out on a string, was amazing. And against Vicksburg, he made another long goal off a free kick,” Head said.

Hoeptner scored 10 goals for Warren Central, but his impact went deeper than that. His skill level anchored the Viking defense.

“Tim knows the game. Even though his English was sometimes hard to understand, he had soccer experience with good skills. With him, we were able to employ a flat-four alignment and that worked well for us,” Head said.

Pettersen says Hoeptner was entertaining on the field.

“He was always complaining about something and he talked a lot, even though, you could not always understand what he was trying to say,” Pettersen said with a laugh. “But the big thing with him was his free kicks.”

Ah, the free kicks. Hoeptner’s skill with the kick began about three years ago.

“I was taught how to free kick by one of the pros in our first German League. He showed me how to get more feeling on the ball. From there I would just practice and practice, sometimes some two or three hours after the regular practice,” Hoeptner said.

Hoeptner is from the German town of Gross-Zimmerh, which is near Frankfurt. There he rose in the youth soccer ranks and then moved on to play with the adults, reaching the second highest level in German soccer.

“We have the first German League which is our pro league and then we have one level under them and that’s where our team played. We had a pretty good season last year. Then I hurt my hip,” Hoeptner said.

While recovering, Hoeptner decided to take up an offer and come to America as an exchange student. He and Langeland landed with the Vicksburg family of Ross and Dardy Tillman.

“It’s been a very nice experience. I’ve met a lot of friends here,” Hoeptner said. “And I’m going to miss free refills on drinks. We don’t have that in Germany.”

As for soccer in the US, that too, was different.

“It was hard for me in the beginning. The soccer here was not that serious. It was more for fun. Then we played Vicksburg. There was a lot of contact in that game. We beat them. We got to the semifinals of the north, so it was a really nice year,” Hoeptner said.

Contact Jeff Byrd at jbyrd@vicksburgpost.com