COLUMBUS - Zach Lesiak wasn't certain he wanted to play football in the Elite Sports International games in Honolulu after receiving an invitation.
But when Braxton Staack also received a letter, Lesiak made up his mind.
The two Lakeview graduates received letters from Concordia football coach Courtney Meyer, telling them they were selected to play for the Nebraska-Colorado team in Hawaii. Staack and Lesiak returned from the eight-day trip Tuesday and spent most of Wednesday recovering from jet lag and exhaustion.
“We were both excited when we received the letter,” Lesiak said. “Braxton and I talked about if we wanted to go or not. In the end, we thought the trip would be a great experience and decided to go.”
Lesiak and Staack, who will play football at Dana College next fall, did more than play football in Hawaii. They also visited Pearl Harbor, took a tour of Aloha Stadium, where the University of Hawaii plays football, and climbed Diamond Head crater.
The Nebraska-Colorado team practiced three times before the game Sunday. It played in two games Sunday and went 1-1. Nebraska-Colorado defeated Oklahoma 10-7 on Lesiak's game-winning field 43-yard field goal with five seconds left. Then, it lost to Georgia-Utah 8-7 on a touchdown with 25 seconds left.
“It was a blast playing with the Nebraska kids, along with kids from Colorado,” Lesiak said. “It was weird at first, but once we got to know everybody, we all got along fine.”
Concordia assistant coach Steve Sirek, who was the Nebraska-Colorado head coach, said the Viking duo were fun to work with.
“It was an excellent experience. (Braxton and Zach) were disciplined, well-coached and did everything well on the field. I would love to coach them again,” Sirek said. “When you are invited, you meet the criteria of the student-athlete and football player that ESI wants to have participate. It's an exciting time for the athletes.”
Lesiak and Staack were selected from the ESI recruiting staff, who contacts clubs and state associations to find which athletes received postseason honors at the state, conference or district level. Sirek said athletes also can be nominated by their high school coaches.
“(ESI) contacts the coaches from the across the state and would tell them who they would recommend and give some names for them to look at,” Sirek said. “Later the kids are contacted by Coach Meyer who says they have been selected to play. Then the decision is totally up to them. Most of the time, kids turn the opportunity down because they can't afford it.”
The trips costs $2,300, which the athletes must pay for by themselves. Staack and Lesiak sold candles, ham and even asked people to donate money for the trip. Their parents helped out by working concession stands during Lakeview soccer games.
“(Coming up with the money) took some time,” Staack said. “There was some stress at times lining up everything. But in the end, it was worth it. The community and the school were very supportive and really helped us out a lot.”
Staack said the entire trip to Hawaii was well worth it.
“It was a great experience,” Staack said. “We got to learn about the different cultures in Hawaii and also some history. The activities we all did together was pretty neat.”
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