If you’ve watched a NISH boys soccer game this season, then you’ve certainly noticed Juan Fernando Ayala.

The 17-year-old senior has an engine like the Energizer bunny, never slowing down for the entire 80-minute game, and has the talent to control the field like an NFL quarterback.

“I try to give it my all every time,” explained Ayala. “Sometimes I get tired, but I try to give it everything that I have.”

Everything that he has is often more than enough. Playing as an attacking midfielder, Ayala functions like the brain of the team, dictating where the ball will go and where his teammates should move.

“He’s definitely a leader in the sense that he brings an energy and a passion to every game that really inspires everyone on the field to step their game up,” said NISH head coach Hale Trahan.

A native of Honduras, Ayala immigrated to the United States four years ago. Before then, he said he only played street soccer.

“I’ve been playing soccer since I was little. In my country I used to play street soccer,” Ayala said. “When I came here, I started playing real soccer.”

That experience in the fast-paced and often violent world of unsanctioned soccer has created several world-class players. Ronaldinho, the famous Brazilian attacking midfielder who dazzled fans for years with his skills, credited his years playing futsal (a football-based game played on a smaller hard court) and street soccer with his ability to understand the game better than anyone else.

Ayala plays in a similar way. No matter what phase of play NISH is in, you can expect him to be near the ball. Trahan said that his goal with Ayala this season has been to get him more involved in link-up play and spreading the workload around to the other attacking options at NISH.

“In a telephone booth, inside that five-yard space, he’s as good as any kid that I’ve seen play all year,” said Trahan. “The learning curve for those types of players is to learn how to play in a system and use a large field. When I came in and put Fernando in that central attacking position, we really focused on what he needed to be doing tactically to help his other teammates out. At any point in the game we can find him in space to make a big play, but it won’t be until he can create for others that he can take the pressure off of him and really start to be effective on offense.”

In addition to controlling the game, Ayala also excels in his ability to perform at the highest level even when the game is almost over or not going the way that NISH planned.

“That’s the leadership quality that I see in him,’ Trahan explained. “Every game, no matter who the opponent is or what the score is, he’s always going to be giving 100%. The best example of that was in probably our worst performance of the year. Against Ascension (Episcopal), we went down 1-0 and then Matthew Clay got a red card so we were down 2-0 with a man down. They scored again to make it 3-0 and Fernando never gave up.

A lot of players would’ve just packed it in, but he kept attacking and he ground out a goal from 30 yards out. He refused to be shut out. That really went a long way with our guys to see that,” Trahan added.

Ayala’s performances on the field make him a leader on the NISH team, but he said he doesn’t feel like he’s at the right level to be looked up to just yet.

“I don’t feel like I’m a leader,” he said. “I make mistakes and I feel like a leader can’t make mistakes.”

Trahan said that Ayala’s humility and ability to recognize his own shortcomings is a natural progression in the player development that he has started this season.

“I think that’s good that he acknowledges his weakness because we have quite a few players who are physically strong and capable but mentally weaker. When the other team gets under their skin, whether it’s verbally or physically, they kind of meltdown and want to fight,” Trahan said. “Fernando has had his moments over the season, but he’s gotten a lot better over the course of the season with that. He has all the potential in the world and his performance speaks for itself, but the team can’t afford to have him missing games because he’s getting cards or fighting with other players.”

Ayala’s plans after high school are still undecided as the senior still unsure about whether he will continue his playing career or not. He has plans to one day own a business.

Trahan said that the star midfielder definitely has what it takes to make it at the next level and, “It’s going to take continuous development on his part to learn how to play tactically in a system, but he’s got as much talent as anyone that I’ve seen this year.”