OUR STORY
The game of football gave Chan everything he needed. It brought our family together in more ways than one. But, it ultimately took it all.
OUR #1
The game of football gave Chan everything he needed. It gave him purpose and passion. It taught him focus and discipline. It showed him the value of hard work and determination. It brought him teamwork and togetherness. He loved his teammates, the Friday night lights, and simply being on the field. It was a spiritual experience watching him play football. We soaked in every moment during this time. The smell of cut grass, endless summer practices, humid Saturday mornings putting the pads on, getting him fed and ready for the big game, and watching pregame warmups. It brought our family together in more ways than one and supporting our young man and his football was something we were all so proud of and totally about.
A NATURAL ATHLETE
We could tell Chan was going to be an athlete from early on. He was extremely athletic and highly competitive. He was tough and he didn’t like to lose. His first sport was soccer and Chan was gifted. He was the MVP of his soccer team in 2001 and 2002 and advanced for his young age at passing the ball. He had an innate ability to “see the field” and would rather make the technical assist than the goal. He was a lefty but also ambidextrous. He would write and throw left-handed but could and would kick, bat, swing and shoot both left and right. He was smooth, and sports came easy for him. At the same time, his mom introduced him to martial arts and he approached the art with passion. He won two gold medals in the Kizuna Invitational Tournament in 2003 in Lakewood, Colorado, and traveled and competed in multiple states in karate tournaments. He attained the rank of brown belt and was on his way to black belt when his passion for football took over.
YOUTH FOOTBALL
Chan wanted to play football and had been asking since age six. We were a football family from the beginning and we shared a love of football. We signed him up for Pop Warner at nine years old and he was a natural from day one. He was a big hitter even though he didn’t have the typical size. Chan played both sides of the ball his entire Pop Warner career. He studied the game. He watched countless hours of college and pro and did not back away from his analysis of the play calling, the players, coaches, and GM’s. He had crazy football instincts and he simply loved the game. He loved watching it, he loved playing it, he loved everything about it.
LOVE OF THE GAME
As his love for football grew, so did his determination and drive to be the best. He soon wanted only to play football so he could focus exclusively on the sport. He wanted to get a scholarship and play college football and Chan was thinking about this goal as a 12-year-old. We pushed him to play other sports but he wouldn’t budge on this football-focused mentality. He won a Pop Warner state championship in 2005 with the Scottsdale Apaches. In 2006 he helped lead the Gilbert Lonestars to an undefeated season until a loss in that year’s state championship game.
DESIRE AND DRIVE
When it was time for High School Football, we had a choice to make on which team to play for: Desert Vista or Saguaro. I was pushing Saguaro because of our Pop Warner relationships with former teammates and coaches that were now there. He had different plans and his choice was Desert Vista. He explained that he wanted to play at the highest level (6A) in high school football and that he wanted to earn his spot. He wanted to show that he could be a difference-maker all on his own and because of his skill, not his connections. His freshmen year he was the QB and strong safety. He played all special teams and returned kickoffs and punts. He won the team’s “Iron Man” award that year. His junior varsity year he played quarterback, running back, and linebacker and won the team’s Defensive MVP.
MAKING A DIFFERENCE
In his junior year, he moved into his natural position of strong safety and helped Desert Vista to the state semifinals. His senior year he played strong safety on the 2011 Arizona State Championship team and highlights included multiple interceptions (one an 88-yard pick-six that was the second-longest in school history), and he was the third-leading tackler for his team in their state championship playoff run. He played that state championship game on his favorite NFL team’s home field, beating Hamilton High School 45-19 which ended their 53 game win streak. The last football game of his career he got dressed in Cardinals stadium and walked off that same field a champion. He had accomplished what he set out to do four years earlier: play at the highest level of high school football, earn his spot, and make a difference.
WELL ROUNDED
When football wasn’t front and center, Chan really enjoyed his time in junior high and high school and made many lifetime friends. He built rewarding relationships with teachers and coaches. He liked to have fun. In truth, “like” would be an understatement, but he always stayed the course with his classwork and football. He made us proud while juggling all of his extracurricular activities and packing in his education at the same time. He worked hard and earned every special moment that came his way during this time.
FOLLOWING DREAMS
Chan graduated from Desert Vista High School in the spring of 2012 and began his career at ASU that fall. We were so proud of him for wanting to continue his education and excited about this experience he was on the doorstep of. Chan was so excited for college, for the relationships he was building, and many of the classes he was taking. He told me that his junior year is when he felt the most comfortable in his skin and felt confident as an adult. I was so happy about this self-introspection and to hear him recognize his progress. Chan graduated from Arizona State University with a Bachelor’s Degree in 2017. It was such a beautiful moment, to see him walk, to see how proud and happy he was to have set an example for his niece and younger cousins who were in attendance. We were all so proud of him. He worked hard for this day and he earned the spotlight that wonderful morning.
CONCUSSIONS, TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY, SYMPTOMS, AND TRAGEDY
Chan loved all sports, but his passion was football -- exclusively playing tackle football at an elite level since the age of nine, having won Arizona State Championships at the Pop Warner and High School level. A majority of Chan’s career was played on both the offensive and defensive sides of the football. In the early 2000s, Chan incurred two known concussions that both required hospital visits and suffered a countless number of sub-concussive hits to the head over his football career.
A few years ago, Chan’s life took a turn as symptoms of CTE began to reveal themselves in him. We didn’t know at the time he was struggling with CTE, and as we tried to understand and navigate our shared confusion for what was happening, his condition began to rapidly decline. Our efforts with therapists, specialists, and extended observational stays could not produce a definitive cause for his struggles. In the meantime, our relationship grew distant and our bond began deteriorating in front of my eyes. Our once unbreakable father and son connection was fracturing with no concrete explanation as to why.
Minor symptoms of CTE began manifesting in Chan around the age of 22 and continued to gradually worsen over the next three years. Chan’s symptoms included agitation, forgetfulness, impulsiveness, anxiety, insomnia, talking to himself, loud vocal outbursts, extreme mood swings, trouble concentrating, distancing himself from close friends and family, headaches, paranoia, trouble thought processing, aggressiveness, delusion, depression, anxiety, and isolation. Chan began chain-smoking when he hadn’t before, began to abuse alcohol, and targeted his anger towards a single individual.
However, and even with all the above, Chan was able to present himself in any environment as completely capable and carefree without displaying any of the above symptoms for extended periods of time. He was able to keep his battle hidden from others and it was really only us as parents that started to pick up on the symptoms as they began accelerating over the past one and a half years of his life. In the end, Chan succumbed to this preventable disease, and our beautiful, talented, and beloved Chandler took his own life on January 15, 2019. We received Chan’s brain autopsy in January 2021 which confirmed that he suffered from CTE and TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury).
OUR CHAN
Chan had so many wonderful character traits which were exhibited during the years of his life. He was an extremely handsome and engaging young man and adult. Chan had a smile and a glow that drew everyone to him. He was so fun and active and positive -- kind of a magnet for warmth and goodness. Chan could make people of all ages feel comfortable being around him and feel that Chan truly enjoyed being with them. He loved his immediate and extended family and was connected to them. He was the first-born grandchild on both sides of the family tree and he carried that torch with honor. Chan is and will always be a beloved grandson, brother, uncle, cousin, nephew, and friend. Chan’s spirit was giving, loving, and pure. He had a glow. He had it and will always have it. Chan was special. He touched lives. When he walked into a room, the room lit up. He had a certain “je ne sais quoi” that you could never quite describe. But, everyone that met him knew he had it. He changed people’s lives with his heart and soul. He was athletic, intelligent, funny, loving, kind, and generous. His love and kindness will be imprinted on the lives of everyone that was blessed to be near him.