Watching from the sidelines can be hard.
It often means you're rooting for your team and waiting for your time shine.
Elijah Gorden's mom said, at one point, the opportunity for her son seemed out of reach.
As a baby he wasn't developing as he should.
"They diagnosed him with developmental delay at first," said Elijah's mom Christa Sallings.
Soon after that it was a diagnosis of cerebral palsy and Eli was restricted to a wheelchair.
"His whole life flashes before you. Is he ever going to be able to do the things that normal kids can do?" Sallings said.
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Football Coach Brad Knowles helped answer that question.
"Eli is my right-hand man," he said. "He's my go-to guy."
At a recent match-up in Kemp, Texas, it was Eli's time to shine.
His coach put him in the game. And not just put him in the game, he was going for the touchdown.
"I never thought it could happen to me," he said.
But it did. Knowles talked to the coach of the opposing team to coordinate the play.
And Eli, ball in his hand, knew exactly what he needed to do.
"I've hoped for it, but I never thought that he would ever get to experience it," Sallings said.
But Knowles said Eli always has a place and role on the team.
"He'll always score something on my team."
Eli said his favorite sport is football. He loves the Cowboys and hopes to meet quarterback Dak Prescott someday.
