Eli is very special to all of us here and remains deep in our hearts. As Paul Beattie and Alex Alderson were developing ESN in the late winter of 2011 and Alex and his wife were expecting their second son. We started with covering only the Evergreen 2A league to begin with to allow us to get our feet underneath us and figure out how to do this thing. We had been struggling to come up with a neutral name, we did not want to name it after the league we were covering because we knew we were going to expand. We also didn’t want such a generic name that it gets lost in the shuffle with other sports website names.

During this time Alex and his wife Elisa learned that there were some medical concerns for their unborn son and were told he would likely have to have heart surgery right after birth. It was February 25, 2011 when little Eli Conrad Alderson came into the world. His parents and family and loved ones had little time to be with him as he was taken into surgery. Little Eli simply could not overcome the huge issue he was facing and passed away after being here for a day.

The living that little boy achieved in his short time was and remains truly inspiring to us. The fact Eli fought for every second of his life puts in perspective life itself. It was then we decided to name our project after Eli and the Eli Sports Network was here and we proudly carry little Eli’s name and legacy.

We like to think on a daily basis Eli’s sheer will to live carries over to each one of us as we tackle life and life’s problems. Certainly when it comes to High School sports we believe keeping it in perspective to the overall big picture fits Eli and our mission to a tee. Now you know the answer to the most common question we receive on a regular basis and there is a real little hero behind the Eli Sports Network.

Eli Conrad Alderson
February 25, 2011