Born and raised in Frankfurt, Germany, senior Tim Puetz is a long way from home, but a tightly-strung racket and yellow ball are the ticket to keeping a sense of familiarity in his life.
"I lived in Frankfurt for pretty much my entire life," Puetz said. "Twenty years. I was born right in Frankfurt, and then we moved to a (neighboring) suburb when I was 3 right after my brother was born. That's where I lived until I came here."
Even at a young age, Puetz was determined to live out a collegiate athletic career overseas.
"Going to college and playing college tennis, I had always said I was going to do it ever since I was 14 without even knowing what it was really like," Puetz said. "I had always wanted to go to the states. My dad used to live in England for a while, so I always had some sort of affiliation with the English language.
"So, coming to play tennis just seemed like a good fit. Then I found out about Auburn, and the whole recruiting process started. I ended up coming here when I was 20 in January 2008."
Although Puetz enjoyed a variety of sports as a child, his love for tennis didn't happen accidentally.
"My dad's a tennis teacher, so it wasn't too farfetched for me to play," Puetz said. "We have pictures at home with me standing in my grandpa's backyard with a plastic racket and one of these soft balls, so I mean, I pretty much started playing tennis when I could walk or hold a racket."
Growing up, Puetz enjoyed partaking in many of his native country's popular recreational activities.
"I never played basketball or football or baseball, but that's just because we don't usually do those at home," Puetz said. "I played a lot of soccer; I did track and field; I played badminton. I played pingpong; I did karate. I did everything you could think of over there."
Coincidently, Puetz found out about the Tigers through a former Australian Auburn player he met in Germany who forwarded his information to the Auburn tennis coach at the time.
Puetz had never been to the United States before his Auburn arrival, excluding a small trip he took to visit family in Dallas.
"It's very different," Puetz said of the U.S. compared to Germany. "We had only heard stories about America before we came here. Some things are quite similar, other things are quite different.
"Everything's much bigger here, obviously. The cities are much bigger. Just the people in general, especially in the South, they're much nicer, more friendly. We're cold people in Germany."
Puetz's younger brother Tom, 21, plays tennis at UAB, but his mother and father are still in Germany.
"I'm not homesick or anything," Puetz said. "I like it here, too, but I miss my friends, I miss family, I miss--just Germany. You know, it's home to me. It'll always be home."
Even so, his fellow teammates, friends and the coaching staff like Puetz right where he is--playing tennis at Auburn.
"He's what you look for in a student athlete," said head coach Eric Shore. "If my daughter was going to date somebody, Tim Puetz would be the guy. I would be very OK with him dating her. He's a class guy."
Puetz has been the team's captain for the past two years.
"He's a leader who sets the example both on and off the court," Shore said. "He knows what it takes to get the job done. They look up to him a great deal. He's easy to talk to--he's a laid-back guy. I think from what he does on and off the court, these guys respect him."
Freshman Daniel Cochrane, Puetz's doubles partner, agreed Puetz is an essential addition to the team.
"He's been a great teammate since I've been here," Cochrane said. "He's led by example. He likes his fun and games, but when it comes to match day, you know he's zoned in. He wants the team to do as well as he does.
"I think he's very humble in the way he approaches his position because he's by far our best player here, and he's one of the best players Auburn has ever had."
When Puetz isn't on the court, he enjoys what little downtime he has, whether that involves acing some Southern-style barbecue ribs, listening to techno, playing golf or even watching the always-appreciated movie, "The Hangover."
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
