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At 13-years-old, Brady Krysiewicz has a lot to juggle. He's a student, a member of the Sporting Kansas City Soccer Academy and the founder of his own nonprofit, Keeper for a Cure.
Brady's been playing soccer since he was 7-years-old, and moved half-way across the country, from Virginia to KC, to go to the Sporting KC Academy.
The idea for Keeper for a Cure was inspired by a speech he heard from retired MLS goal keeper Jon Busch, who spoke about leadership and how to be a leader on and off the field.
"A few of my family members had cancer and a few of them died from it," Brady said. "I didn’t want anyone else to have to go through the experience of suffering through that."
In the last five years, his organization has raised over $9,000 for a number of cancer organizations. This year's charity of choice is Gilda's Club Kansas City.
"We raised $1,300 to $1,700 at our last event that we did with the Cauldron, who is a part of Sporting Kansas City, and that was just at the one event," Brady said.
The soccer star has been to countless camps and won a number of awards, but he said nothing compares to handing over a big check to a deserving organization.
"Once they show how appreciative they are, you get the feeling, like, this is something right that you did, and you should be very proud of it," Brady said.
On top of everything, Brady also hosts a podcast, 10 Questions with a Pro, interviewing pro soccer players, something he aspires to be one day.
Anthony Krysiewicz, Brady's father, said he and his wife support their son in all of his ventures.
"He has the final say on everything, he’s the one who choses the nonprofits, he’s the one who had the final say in which academy he ended up going to," Anthony said. "It’s Brady driving the bus and we’re just passengers."
He watches his son in awe, as Brady does things most teenagers don't have the time or care to do.
"He doesn’t really have the social life that he wants," Anthony said. "He’s doing all these things that he has to sacrifice because he has things that he’s already donated his time to, but I mean, you know, he’s got goals and ambitions out of them."
As a goalie, Brady constantly has to be on his toes, but he's showing that with hard work, and a lot of heart, it's possible to do it all.
"I think it’s the drive to get better, and always being motivated by peers around me, and making sure that the people that have seen me in the past who doubted me, I’m gonna prove them wrong," Brady said.
Keeper for a Cure is having it's last fundraiser for Gilda's Club Kansas City on Oct. 27 from 8 to 10:30 p.m. at the Apex Aleworks Brewery.
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