Herivaux Reaches for His Dream
- Updated: May 5, 2015
Photo credit: Chris Aduama/aduamaphotography.com
Most teenagers who’ve played soccer for as long as they can remember would jump at the chance to sign a pro contract. But Zachary Herivaux is more cerebral than your average 19-year-old.
Herivaux inked a Homegrown Player deal with the Revolution on Saturday, but not before the club’s Youth Academy product carefully weighed his options, one of which included a full scholarship to Providence College.
“It took me a while to make my decision,” Herivaux told the media after his first official training session with the squad on Monday. “I sat down with my dad and my mom and other people who care about me, and they basically asked me what I wanted for my future.”
That discussion eventually led the young central midfielder to one realization: he didn’t want to wait any longer to take the next step. It was time to put everything else aside, and fully commit himself to the pursuit of his lifelong goal.
“I wanted to be a professional soccer player as early as possible,” Herivaux said. “That’s what I’ve always dreamt of – playing professional soccer. I can’t really see myself doing anything else, so once offered me the contract, I said ‘Yes, I want to play.’”
But before Herivaux dons his no. 21 jersey (a tribute to his mentor, longtime club skipper Shalrie Joseph) and steps on to the pitch for the first time, Revolution coach Jay Heaps would like to see his newest signing acclimate to the everyday life of a professional footballer first.
“The most important thing for us is getting him in this environment,” Heaps told the media after Monday’s training. “I think that’s the difference for him right now: getting him in here 5-6 days week, being with the first team, getting on a program with our strength and conditioning coaches, and getting set in a professional environment is key for him.”
Herivaux’s no stranger to playing and training in a professional environment. The club called him into preseason camp during the last two years, and he collected first-team minutes in each of the last two Desert Diamond Cup tournaments.
According to Heaps, the experience played a vital role in the teenager’s development. But he admitted that the jury is still out on how many minutes the talented teenager will see during his rookie season.
“You never know how quickly the growth is going to come,” Heaps said “But we have a crowded summer as well and we’ll have some absentee players, (National Team) call-ups and injuries, so it’s not out of the question that he could see some game time. But we want to make sure this early process is taken care of the right way, and he adapts well.”
To his credit, Herivaux has already shown his ability to adapt to new challenges. Over the course of the last few years, the teenager has regularly joined the Revolution for summertime training, and hardly looked out of place on each occasion.
Now, that ability to acclimate to the professional game has Herivaux on the doorstep of suiting up for the squad he’s imagined playing for since his childhood.
“New England was always my dream,” Herivaux said. “Growing up here and come to the games all the time – I just pictured myself playing here one day, and I’m just blessed to make it come true.”
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