BY BRIAN GOSSET
X – @Gosset41
Many don’t know who Ashley Fouts was.
But those that did, remember her as the model volleyball player – one that showcases her skills on the court and is a great teammate off the court – someone that dominates the opposition, but looks innocent behind a beautiful smile.
Her life really seemed to be coming together and ready for a big senior year. She was growing as a player – competing at the club level and at Boyd High School, 30 miles north of Fort Worth.
Unfortunately, only a month into her final season with the Yellowjackets volleyball team, the world came to an abrupt standstill for the Fouts family and the surrounding community.
Fouts died in her sleep from a heart condition on September 5, 2019.
She was 17.
She suffered from Long QT syndrome (LQTS), which is defined as “a heart rhythm condition that can potentially cause fast, chaotic heartbeats. Rapid heartbeats may trigger a sudden fainting spell or seizure. In some cases, the heart can beat erratically for so long that it causes sudden death.”
I never met Ashley, but I know her as personally as two people who have never met can.
The volleyball community is a special group so when news broke that Ashley had passed, social media blew up with tributes of the young Boyd volleyball star.
As a reporter & as active as I am on social media, I decided to write a piece on her.
Her parents Bill and Elizabeth Fouts knew who I was, but again, we had never met. Their middle daughter Nicole played volleyball at Justin Northwest around the time I was starting to cover volleyball in Dallas-Fort Worth. Ashley also started her high school career at Northwest.
Five years later and I have a connection with the Fouts.
From writing multiple tributes for Ashley, to attending a graduation drive by during COVID, to a Boyd-Peaster volleyball…game that marked the four-year anniversary, to being with the Fouts every Sept. 5, to spending time on the family boat which is naturally called the Ashley Michelle, numerous lunches and dinners – even meeting my parents who visited from Hawaii and most recently being in attendance for Nicole’s wedding in March – one might think I have known the Fouts forever.
But that’s who Ashley was.
Although not with us physically, she’s here watching us and bringing people together. That’s what she did with her parents and I, and now we’re lifelong friends.
However, it’s just not the three of us.
Ashley is still being celebrated like she never left. In the summer of 2021, Boyd built a sand volleyball court and named it in her honor. Last season during the four-year anniversary when Boyd and Peaster faced off – more than $900 was raised. Her parents started a foundation and money has been raised for a scholarship in Ashley’s honor. To top it off, more than 100 people went to Mule Barn Sports Bar in Justin to celebrate her 21st birthday on Jan. 7, 2023.
Her parents give out a scholarship ever year – to a player that shows kindness on and off the court the way Ashley did. To date, the Fouts have given away 10 scholarships (worth $1,000).
PHOTO CREDIT: MATT SMITH
