Meet your student-athlete: Battle Mountain’s Joseph Fernandez
There’s always next year for Barca
We found it.
We found something that has gone wrong during Battle Mountain soccer’s season.
Real Madrid doubled up Barcelona, 2-1, in Saturday’s El Classico. Battle Mountain center-back Joseph Fernandez is a huge Barca fan, but, in every life, a little rain must fall, we guess. Arsenal did save the weekend for Fernandez with 4-1 decision over Crystal Palace.
At 8-0 with two games to play this week to finish the regular season at Steamboat Springs Tuesday and home for Eagle Valley Thursday, Fernandez and the Huskies can realistically start talking about the possibility of a 10-0 campaign. Rest assured, the the Sailors and Devils will be doing their best to wreck it.
Fernandez plays center-back with Josh Keiser. Allow a little Vail Daily inside baseball here: We ask the coach for candidates for this feature. It’s not a coincidence that David Cope’s first selections for this space are his CBs.
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As stunning as Battle Mountain’s offense is, it’s always been about the center backs with Cope. They run the team, and apparently very well.
For more on Fernandez, read on:
Birthday: Nov. 17, 2003.
Parents: Ramiro and Maricela Fernandez.
Siblings: Jesus Torres, 24, Ramiro, 19, Flor Fernandez, 13.
Why soccer? “I think it’s the friendships I’ve made throughout the way. It’s a place where I can go and take my mind off the stress and school and everything that’s happening.”
How’d you start? “I think it all started with my brother [Jesus] started playing soccer. So I started playing soccer and fell in love with the sport.”
What’s it like to be a center back? “It feels amazing. It’s like trusting, being confident that you can move the ball forward. It takes work. It takes time because you’re going side-to-side, but when you break that first line [of the other team], you’re going forward with your team.”
Best moments in soccer: “I think it was being able to go to the President’s Cup twice.”
Best moment in high school soccer: “I think it’s my first goal against Eagle Valley this year.”
Worst moment in soccer: The 2018 playoffs when the No. 5 Huskies were upset in the first round.
Most embarrassing moment: “It was, for sure, my freshman year. We got a penalty kick against Summit at home. I was so excited to take it. I was so confident. I go up and hit the crossbar and they nearly scored on a counter. They still make fun of me for that. I still have to make every penalty I get in practice so they’ll stop.”
Favorite subject in school: “Anything with social studies.” (Good answer.)
College plans: “I’m thinking of two years at a community college and then I want to transfer to a DI or DII school.”
Career plans: “I think in college I want to do business. I think as a career, I want to try to go all the way in soccer.”
Favorite social media: Instagram.
Favorite video game: FIFA 21 — plays Chelsea.
Favorite food: Macaroni and cheese.
Favorite drink: Chocolate milk.
Favorite pizza slice: Pepperoni.
Favorite teams: Chelsea and Barcelona.
Favorite athlete: LeBron James.
Favorite music: Rap.
Favorite artist: Drake.
If you were a tree, what kind of tree would you be? “An oak. Is that a tree?” (Yes, for the record.)
COVID is over. You can travel anywhere in the world. Where do you go? London.
You’re ruler of the world for one day. What do you do? “I think I put speakers on every corner of the world and blast music.”
