COVINGTON, Va. (TVR) – Records were made to be broken.
It’s an old saying, but in the case of Alleghany senior Garrett Via, those words were taken to heart.
Via, a multi-sport athlete, spent his most recent football season shattering records. He is now the Alleghany school record holder for most rushing yards in a season (1,816), most rushing touchdowns in a season (25) and most yards in one game (312). He also is tied for the record for most touchdowns in a single game with five. For his play, Via received the first-and-10 player of the week and won the MVP and offensive player of the year awards for his team.
An avid fisherman, golfer and snowboarder in his free time, Via has everything one looks for in a sports star. He is preparing for his final baseball season which starts soon and just completed his last basketball season that ended with a loss to the top-seeded Radford Bobcats. Via scored 5 points and dished out five assists in that game.
Via says that playing more than one sport helps him with the skill needed to play a different sport.
“I’ve played basketball since I was a little kid, and playing football definitely has helped a lot with speed, strength and just overall being a better athlete,” Via said.
One of Via’s greatest strengths does not even involve a physical athletic aspect, but more his decision-making and maturity level for someone his age, and he thanks his coaches for that.
“My coaches have taught me many different things, but the ones that stand out to me the most are doing things that you think are right, and making the right decision,” he stated.
“Another one is, don’t worry what other people think about you and just be yourself. Whether it be someone asking you to go out to a party, but you know to yourself that’s wrong. So, instead I would go hit the weight room, because I’m getting better doing that. I believe that you should do things with a purpose and do things to make you better, which has played a big role in how I think,” Via added.
Those skills are not just from coaches, however. Via’s father has played a huge role in his life and so has his family in general.
“My family has always backed me up on any of my athletic decisions,” Via said.
“They have pushed me further than my expectations, and my dad has played a huge role in where I am today. He would take a lot of his free time to help me with football stuff and take me to many camps. My dad also helped me with baseball a whole lot by throwing me a couple of buckets of balls every day, so I can be the best that I can possibly be,” Via continued.
The upcoming baseball season has Via excited, and he has placed high expectations for himself and his team.
“This coming baseball season, I have extremely high hopes for us, as last year we almost made it to the states which we should’ve. We were up in the ninth inning, and they came back and beat us in the 11th. Last year, I got first team all-region and all-district, so this year I am definitely expecting even better. I am so excited to play baseball this season, as I know our team has been working their butts off to win states this year,” Via said with a smile.
Even though Via will physically be absent from the school after he graduates, something that will remain with him forever is the memories he helped create for himself and his teams.
“The thing that I will always remember is during the offseason for football, how much hard work we put in when nobody believed in us and thought we were going to have another crappy season. I will miss the amount of crazy cheering after you would score a touchdown, especially in the Covington game,” Via said.
“That almost felt unreal,” he said.
Via has not finalized his post high school plans, but knows he wants to play football at a four-year college and possibly major in physical therapy.
