Though only a junior at Western Albemarle High School, Hayes Fountain has given a verbal commitment to play soccer for the University of Virginia.
"It's been my dream school," says the Warrior captain. "I remember watching those guys play when I was 6, 7, 8 years old, and being like, 'Man, those guys are my heroes. I want to get out there one day' and got lucky enough to make it come true."
Fountain stands out on the pitch for the Warriors but doesn't stand apart from his teammates.
Junior defender Stuart Fooks says, "It hasn't been that different. He just fits in. He jokes around with all the guys, so it's nothing like, 'Wow, he's out of our league.'"
"Back in the day, he was the fat kid, which we always brought up," said junior defender Noah Oakland, with a laugh. "He was always the least athletic of all of us. Now he's by far the fastest, biggest, and going to a great school for soccer."
Fountain missed some time early in the season due to a hip injury. He's played all over the field in his career, but now that's he's back in action this season, Fountain is concentrating mostly on left halfback, which is the position he'll likely play at UVA.
But when the Warriors are trailing, Fountain will move up to the offensive attack and get a goal any way he can.
Western Albemarle head coach Paul Rittenhouse says, "When he's on the field, he demands so much of himself, and that rubs off on players. They see, 'Hey, we got a guy who's got a great opportunity in front of him, and he's not dialing it in. He's working really, really hard.'"
Fountain says, "I went into talk to UVA head coach George Gelnovatch after I went to their summer camp, and they told me they wanted me to come play for UVA. I was kind of dumbfounded. I was ready to commit right on the spot, but they told me, 'Go look at other schools. Do your due diligence, but you're not going to find anything better. UVA is the place to be,' and I was like, 'Yeah, it is.'"
