Jefferson Forest soccer player signs with Liberty Univ.

FOREST — Jefferson Forest senior midfielder Timothy Bullock became the first local recruit in several seasons for Liberty University coach Jeff Alder, signing a partial scholarship to play for the Flames’ men’s soccer team starting next fall.

“I’ve always wanted to go to Liberty and play soccer,” Bullock said at a ceremony held Tuesday morning at JF. “I’ve watched them play since I was a little kid, just dreaming about the time when maybe I’d be able to go play there. It will be a good challenge for me to take on and hopefully, I’ll do well.”

He said it will be a larger leap than he took last year, when he transferred from New Covenant School to join the Cavaliers.

“I took a big step from New Covenant to go onto JF and the Roanoke Star (travel team),” Bullock said. “This step’s going to be a little bit bigger, but I think I can do my best and once I get in there, I’ll be all right.”

Cavaliers coach Jedd Zaring is confident Bullock will make a smooth transition.

“I have no doubt he can play at the division I level,” Zaring said. “Jeff (Alder) saw in Tim a potential that he would take a chance on, and he’s a good bet.”

Bullock wasn’t always the fastest player on the soccer field, so he was forced to strengthen his technical skills at an early age to develop into a successful scorer.

Now, the left wing has a rare combination of both, and is left-footed to boot.

“Any time you can get a pure left-footed player, they don’t come around that often, kind of like the left-handed reliever in baseball,” Zaring said, noting Bullock’s one liability may be his small frame. “He’ll thicken up when he gets there (and) he’s got the thing you can’t coach — speed.”

JF junior center midfielder David Rochow believes Bullock’s skills and speed will serve him well at Liberty, with his left foot an added bonus.

“He’s definitely one of the ones I look for to play the ball to over the top,” Rochow said. “It’s such a benefit to have a left-footed player to put on the left flank for that reason. He doesn’t have to cut back. He can play it in stride on the run.”

Bullock is the area’s leading scorer through 10 games this spring with 11 goals and four assists, statistics even more impressive for a wing rather than a striker.

“I’ve played a lot of wing, so I don’t get a lot of forward motion, but I get in there enough,” he said. “I’m probably not the best finisher on the team, but I do my best to get in there and put some goals in the net. I get a lot of crosses in the box and put the ball in.”

He considers himself more of a finesse player than a powerful striker.

“I don’t have the hardest shot in the world,” he said. “I (do) a lot of getting past defenders and putting them in the corners, away from the goalie.”

He has the composure to play at the next level.

“I’ve got basic skills and I thrive under pressure,” Bullock said.