By Brendan C. Hinkle ’16
THE ROUNDUP 

Ryan Velez ’16 plays running back for Brophy’s football team, along with other sports, and he hopes to continue playing football in the future.

Velez said he has been playing football for seven or eight years now and it’s his favorite sport.

“Football is my favorite because it’s the one sport my parents didn’t want me to play when I was younger,” Velez said. “I had to convince them, I had to nag a little bit, and ever since I started playing I’ve loved it so much and I don’t really want to stop.”

Before Velez came to Brophy, he attended Basis Scottsdale.

“I wanted to come to Brophy because of the connections that I can make in life, the brotherly love that you get here, the friendships that you make, and the Catholic teaching that they teach you,” Velez said.

Velez doesn’t just play football for Brophy, he also plays baseball and wrestles. He plays a diversity of sports, but said he hopes to go the farthest in football.

His football coach last year on the freshman team was Mr. Brad Shear, who is a counselor at Brophy.

“He was a crucial part to the success to the freshman team last year,” Mr. Shear said. “The one thing about Ryan is he’s very coachable, he has great vision because he is patient enough to wait for his blocks, but what makes him dominant is his will to succeed. He doesn’t allow himself to go down.”

Velez had a total of 1,155 yards rushing and 12 touchdowns this year.

He doesn’t just live his Brophy life in football pads though.

“Off the field, he is a very bright, respectful, hardworking kid,” Mr. Shear said.

“In my spare time, I like to hang out with friends,” Velez said. “I’m a Boy Scout, and I like to play just other sports generally.”