University of Connecticut Athletics
UConn Football Signs IMPACT Player Xander
8/31/2022 9:44:00 PM | Football
UConn Athletic Communications / Aug 31, 2022
STORRS, Conn. – The UConn football team signed an impact player Wednesday.
Team IMPACT, that it.
Young Xander Espinal-Rodriguez, 6, officially became a member of the UConn football Huskies when he signed a National Letter of Intent in front of UConn Coach Jim Mora and his loudly cheering new UConn teammates.
"When I think about the type of recruits we want at UConn, it's guys who are selfless, put the team first and have toughness, and this guy has toughness," Coach Mora said. "It's not always what you see. There's things going on in our lives that nobody knows about and Xander has some fights that he's fighting every day. And this is a tough dude -- to have him as part of our team is only going to add to our team toughness as well. We also want people of high character and this guy right here is as high character as it gets. We're lucky to have him."
Xander, from East Hartford, has been diagnosed with hemophillia, a medical condition in which the ability of the blood to clot is severely reduced, causing the sufferer to bleed severely from even a slight injury.
Team IMPACT matches children facing serious illness and disabilities with college sports teams, creating a longterm, life-changing experience for everyone involved.
"I just want to thank you guys for having Xander," Melissa, Xander's mother told the team. "It's had such a positive impact for him and our family. He's had fun."
Xavier has been mentored primarily by UConn junior linebacker Jordan Morrison and grad student wide receiver Nigel Fitzgerald.
"This has been exciting for us to do," Morrison said. "I'm more than happy to have Xander part of the brotherhood now and see all the fun things that are in store for us."
"Xander is a competitor," Fitzgerald said with a smile. "Our games of air hockey get very intense and our pool table games get real intense. I'm just glad we could have Xander here and add him to our team."
With that introduction, Xander signed his Letter of Intent and Coach Mora did the same to make it official.
"When you think about what we as a team embrace," Coach Mora explained, "that's trying to add value to others lives, to use our platform to enrich other peoples' lives, we have an amazing opportunity today to bring someone into our brotherhood that's going to add to our lives and hopefully, we can add to his life. I'm really excited about that."
Wearing his new UConn cap and shirt, Xander was all smiles.
"It's so good to be on the UConn football team," he said. "I love this football team most in the whole world. One, two, three, Brotherhood." Â Â Â
About Team IMPACT
Team IMPACT's unique multiyear program signs children facing serious illness and disability onto college athletic teams across the country. Based on a clinical model, Team IMPACT guides a symbiotic relationship between teams and children focused on socialization, empowerment, and resilience, ensuring everyone involved has the personalized game plan they need to win – effectively building confidence and independence. Founded in 2011, Team IMPACT has matched more than 2,300 children with 700+ colleges and universities in 49 states, impacting more than 60,000 student-athletes. If you know a child or team who may be interested, please visit www.teamimpact.org.
