A Decades-Long Impact Leads to Lifelong Friendships

Brady Antaya’s official connection with Merrimack College’s men’s soccer team through Team IMPACT, which spanned 12 years, ends this summer as he graduates from high school.

As a 6-year-old in 2013, Brady Antaya stood on Martone-Mejail Field alongside the Merrimack College men’s soccer team’s starting lineup as the program’s newest member through Team IMPACT, a Massachusetts-based nonprofit that matches children facing serious illness and disability with college athletic teams across the country. 

Eleven years later, it was head men’s soccer coach Tony Martone who stood alongside Antaya as his confirmation sponsor. 

So is the story, and impact, of Antaya’s connection with Merrimack men’s soccer, which has gone from the pitch to hospital rooms to birthday parties to confirmations and a high school graduation. 

“He’s been an inspiration for me and our program,” said Martone. “I think in some ways, we probably get more out of the relationship than he does. This hasn’t been your typical Team IMPACT relationship; it has gone way beyond that.”

That connection, the longest in Team IMPACT’s history, officially ends this summer as Antaya graduates from Methuen High School.

“My relationship with Coach Martone is a very personal one,” said Antaya, whose 12-year tenure with the Warriors is only exceeded by Martone’s 43 years. “It definitely reached beyond the soccer field. I had my confirmation last year and I asked him to be my sponsor. So that was something that was very meaningful to me. He’s also been there through all my medical challenges.”

Those medical challenges are a result of CHARGE syndrome, which Antaya was diagnosed with at birth. CHARGE is a rare genetic condition that affects about 1 in 10,000 newborns. It can cause hearing and vision loss, heart defects and developmental delays, among other significant symptoms. 

“He’s been fighting every day,” said Martone. “I’m amazed he has been able to deal with the physical challenges and accomplish so much. Once I became familiar with his challenges and treatments, the thing that really stands out to me is I can’t remember one time when he came down to the field without a smile on his face.”

Over the years, Antaya has met and engaged with hundreds of players, participating in practices, walking out with the team’s starting lineup at games, having players visit him in the hospital and being part of Merrimack men’s soccer history.

“The fondest memory I have would probably be in 2018 when we won the Northeast 10 Championship against Bentley,” said Antaya. “I think it was like 20-something years since they last won the championship, so being able to be a part of that championship team, being able to experience that moment with all of them, is probably my fondest memory.”

For current players like goalkeeper Nelton Semedo ’25, Antaya has served as an inspiration. Semedo recalled a period during his freshman year when he wasn’t playing particularly well. But after kicking the ball around with Antaya during one practice, Semedo got back in the action and started playing better.

“He’s family rather than a fan,” Semedo said of Antaya.

Antaya will attend Curry College in the fall to play tennis. He has already spoken to the head coach there about connecting with Team IMPACT.

“This connection helped Brady build relationships with people other than ourselves and doctors and nurses because that’s what he was used to being surrounded by,” said Cynthia Antaya, Brady’s mother. “And I think many of the boys on the team really took to him right away and wanted to do things off the field with him, which was great for us. Tony and the boys prepared him very well (for college).”

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