Age: 17

Parents: Charlotte and Charles Pamplin.

Favorite Class: AP calculus, with Laura Tolliver.

Sports: soccer and lacrosse.

Why soccer: "My brother is 16 years older than I am, and he played soccer in college (at West Point). He taught me the game; he was my first personal trainer, my first instructor."

Why goalkeeper: "We are the quarterbacks of soccer. We're the only ones to see the whole field."

Carrboro soccer coach James Mundia says: "Not only has he done remarkably as a goalkeeper, but his enthusiasm and attitude are a marvel to watch. We have three goalkeepers on our team and they all have a great working relationship. John has a lot of experience playing at a high level and has taken it upon himself, along with his classmate Gus Brighton, to tutor freshman Joe Maffly-Kipp in his introduction to high school soccer. John is active in school as well, serving on the Student Government and also plays lacrosse in the spring season. John is always very positive with his leadership and understands that the only way a team can be successful is through working together as a unit. ... He exemplifies an attitude that will take him places not only in sports but in life as well."

Favorite food: spaghetti.

Eat in or dine out. In. ... My mother is a great cook.

But if I eat out: Town Hall Grill.

On my iPhone: "Greatest Saves of 2007" ... a 'pump-up' video of English Premier League soccer.

Favorite athlete: Oliver Kahn, former German soccer goalie.

Favorite TV show: "Scrubs".

Favorite movie: the "Star Wars" trilogy.

Most famous person met: NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon. "in a small airport. ... I was surprised at how short he is."

Favorite place to visit: California, "The Presidio in San Francisco, where I was born. That, and every two to three years my family takes a trip to Turks and Caicos islands. That's really nice."

Favorite music: Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Four people I'd invite to dinner: "Jesus, to see how accurate the Bible is. ... George Bush, I've got a lot of questions to ask him. (Nikola) Tesla, just a genius I'd like to talk to. ... And whoever is elected president in November; I want to know how he's going to fix the economy once he's elected."

What people don't know: People underestimate how hard I work. I'm really driven, whether it's about soccer or schoolwork or whatever. People don't expect me to have the grades I've got."

GPA this year: about 4.8.