WESTPORT ­-- Preston Hirten loved to read books, non-fiction in particular. He possessed an intellectual curiosity, was tuned into world affairs, had musical tastes that ran the spectrum from Buddy Guy to Bob Dylan, and had two parents and two sisters who loved him very much.

Preston's days usually started and ended with SportsCenter, and in between were colored by his passionate pursuit of a vast array of interests, because almost every subject served as a gateway to be entered, and Preston attacked all of his activities with zeal.

Oh, and Preston was an outstanding soccer player.

But then you already knew that. In the 12 days since the former Staples High School star collapsed and died due to an enlarged heart during the first practice of the season with the Mary Washington University team, much has deservedly been made of his accomplishments on the field. How Preston was a driving force behind the Wreckers' run to the Fairfield County Interscholastic Athletic Conference title and a trip to the state championship game in 2006. And how Preston, after transferring from Hobart following his freshman season, started all 17 games for Mary Washington last year, helping the team to a 9-5-3 record.

Soccer brought Preston acclaim, countless friendships and great satisfaction.

But it hardly defined him.

"He was an interesting person to be around," said Preston's mother, Lisa. "You could put him next to anyone at the table and he would find something to talk about. He could jump off the sports pages so easily. Preston got it. I don't know how else to explain it."

Preston found some of his greatest happiness patrolling the middle of a soccer field. His role was often to distribute the ball to others, which come to think of it was how he spent much of his time away from the field as well. His work ethic inspired his teammates and frustrated opponents. Yet Preston was the first to help up a player he may have inadvertently sent flying to the pitch.

That was consistent with his general life view. As Lisa said, if someone accidentally bumped into him in the hallway, he reacted not with his fists raised but a hand extended.

"I know Preston worked as hard in the classroom as he did on the field," Staples coach Dan Woog said. "He was so intense, and once it came to soccer it was all work. He did not slack off, even in training. He also had a really good sense of humor. Not raucous. He could see the humor in situations."

Preston even used soccer as a means, not merely an end. Lisa suggested that he look into taking a trip to do volunteer work this summer, and he ended up spending a month in Ghana, coaching two youth teams that played on dirt patches which hardly resembled the splendor of Albie Loeffler Field.

"He cared about bigger things, looking at soccer as a world game," Lisa said.

Preston was a political science major who was fascinated by the 2008 presidential election. He enjoyed cooking, particularly grilling, and his parents were surprised when they looked through the documents folder on his computer to find a number of different recipes.

Preston's oldest sister, Justine, recently graduated from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Because her interests revolved around painting and drawing, not athletics, she said there was not a common bond between them until recently. Yet it turned out that the screen saver on Preston's computer was a piece of Justine's art.

"For years we didn't have a lot to talk about," Justine said. "The last couple of years I think Preston understood me, even though we were different in a lot of ways."

Preston liked to spend bus rides doing the Washington Post crossword puzzle with his Mary Washington teammates. His father, Marc, earlier this year gave each of his three kids $5,000 to invest. In just four months Preston's account grew to $20,000.

"Preston took a great interest in expanding his knowledge, studying up and researching what he was doing," Marc said.

A candlelight vigil and memorial service last weekend brought Preston's many soccer worlds together. There were representatives from Preston's youth and club teams, from a team in Illinois, where his family lived for seven years, from the Staples, Hobart and Mary Washington squads.

In perhaps the greatest tribute, Woog decided not to retire Preston's No. 15 jersey. That will be worn this year by Frankie Bergonzi. In the future, each player who wears the uniform will decide who gets to wear it the following year.

Mary Washington coach Roy Gordon said at the service, "You can bet every year I'll call Dan. I'll ask who wore No. 15, and I'll recruit him."

"It's a way for Preston to live on," Woog said. "I'm sure years from now, when the fourth or fifth guy has it, I'll make sure he knows what it means."

Nearly two weeks later, the tributes keep coming in. They help bring comfort to the Hirtens, but on one level they are not really revelatory.

"We knew we had a great kid, but we didn't go around telling everyone that," Lisa said. "We hear it now, but we're not hearing anything we didn't already know. It's just on a greater scale."

Before the Staples soccer banquet in 2006, Preston, who was not a captain on the team, asked Woog if it was OK for him to say a few words.

The team's 18-2-3 record on the field had been tempered by two players whose fathers passed away during the season, and two more who learned their fathers had terminal illnesses.

"I didn't know what he was going to say, but I trusted these guys," Woog said.

Preston gave an impassioned speech that Woog said captivated the room, which included the following words: "When our season finally ended, we left the field just as when we started our mission, hand in hand. It was at this point when I appreciated all the experiences from this season because these were life lessons I couldn't have learned anywhere else. I believe that the life lessons I have learned from playing with these incredibly special people have made me into a better person."

Those who shared the field with Preston -- and those who didn't but were connected to him in a different way -- are better people because of the association.

That realization happened just way too soon.

Dave Ruden can be reached at dave.ruden@scni.com