10/18/2025
And that’s a wrap. The first year of football for Eli is in the books. I can’t express enough how proud I am of him.
When he told me he wanted to play football, I literally laughed in disbelief. He had told me so many times that football “wasn’t him.” I thought I had him convinced he was going to swim and play water polo, like me. So, you can understand that when he said this, I was ready to take the financial hit, thinking he would quit as soon as pads came on. Thankfully, he didn’t. He stuck with it, and he found himself within the sport.
We made it a goal this year to just learn the game and absorb as much knowledge as he could. And when I say “learn,” he didn’t even know what a down was. About a couple of weeks in, while walking out with his coach, I asked, “What can I work on with him to help?” His coach said “confidence.” Ever since hearing that, he started believing in himself.
It’s sad to see an early playoff exit, but I am so happy to see that Eli found something that is him, and not me. Thank you ,and thank you to his coaches. Coach Hardeman, Silva, Lawrence, Infante, and for sacrificing their time with their families to help better these young men. I can’t wait for the off-season and the start of next year!