On Tuesday, 21 April 2026, our lives changed forever when our son, Ethan, died suddenly from a brain aneurysm at just 16 years old.
Until that moment, Ethan was a fit and healthy teenager with no symptoms or health issues. There was no warning and no time to prepare for a world without him.
As parents, you hope that you raise a child who embodies the values you believe in as a family. Ethan was that son for us.
He was full of life and love, and he carried those qualities into everything he did. He had a passion for football, music, food, fitness, his friends and, most of all, his family. He loved being around people and had a natural ability to make those around him feel valued.
But above everything else, Ethan was kind.
He was a shining light to everyone who knew him. His smile, enthusiasm and compassion left an impression on so many people, and his absence has left a space that can never be filled.
The world is a darker place without Ethan in it. As his family and friends, all we can do is try to bring the same light to others that Ethan brought to us.
Why The Albion Foundation?
Our connection with The Albion Foundation began through something very important to Ethan: his own experience.
In 2025, Ethan completed his Year 10 work experience with the Foundation. What could have been simply a placement became something much more meaningful to him.
He loved his time with the Foundation team and, through that experience, discovered how much he enjoyed helping others through sport. It confirmed something he had already begun to believe — that he wanted his future career to be in sport, supporting people and helping them find their own way.
That is why choosing The Albion Foundation feels so right for us.
It is an organisation that understands the power of sport to change lives. It creates opportunities, builds confidence and uses football and sport to engage with people who may face barriers or disadvantage.
A Place for Everyone
Ethan’s legacy is not simply about football. It is about what sport can do for a person.
We want to help create a future where everyone has the opportunity to find their own path through sport, regardless of their background, circumstances or disabilities.
Sport should be a place where a young person who is struggling can find confidence. Where someone who feels different can find acceptance. Where disability is not a barrier. Where a person’s circumstances do not determine what they can achieve.
Sport can provide friendship when someone feels alone. It can create purpose, belonging and opportunities that might otherwise never exist.
These are the things we believe Ethan would have wanted to help provide for others.
If his story can encourage even one person to take that first step into sport, find a team, make a friend, discover a talent or simply find somewhere they feel they belong, then his light will continue to shine.
Keeping Ethan’s Light Shining
Through the support of his family, friends and everyone who shares our belief in his legacy, we hope to turn our unimaginable loss into something positive for others.
Every opportunity created, every young person supported and every life touched through sport will be another way for Ethan's kindness to live on.
Our hope is that, together with The Albion Foundation, we can keep that light burning brightly and help others find their own path through sport — just as Ethan dreamed of doing.
His story continues.
His kindness continues.
His light continues.
#Forever Number 10.
