Felipe Lawall grew up in Brazil, where soccer is a way of life, while live breathes soccer.

Know my whole entire childhood.

If I wasn't going to school, I was playing soccer on the streets with my friends.

Or, you know, for the teams that I grew up playing.

He came to America to play collegiately, eventually landing at the University of West Florida.

Lawall's senior season in 2006, took on added meaning when two weeks in his first child was born, a son who shares his name.

I basically paid my whole entire senior year in order for sleep and watching in the stands, you know, obviously as a baby.

But, so I think they actually gave me a little extra motivation, you know, to keep going and keep going.

The new dad produced a magical season, earning All-American status and leading off on a remarkable run to the national semifinals.

He was then drafted by Orlando of the Major Indoor Soccer League.

After a year of pro soccer, family responsibilities led to a decision to go into coaching back in Pensacola.

He embarked on that career at the club and high school level with young Felipe tagging along.

I was brought in with me and he did the sessions with me, even though he's way younger than the boys, so he was always around the soccer ball because that was my life.

So he he, I drag him along everywhere I went.

I always knew that it would be that it was like a big thing, that soccer was like a big deal, like for my, my entire life.

And he was always coaching his stuff.

So I always knew that it was going to be like a big part of me.

When Felipe started playing competitively as a youngster, dad naturally was coach.

He was definitely, like, tougher on me than everyone else.

Some practices where I'm crying because he's out because of how tough he is on me.

I'm like, I'm crying in practice.

But like, because I just didn't really understand that.

Like, he just wanted me to do, like, succeed and stuff.

I think I was a little bit tougher than I should, but I think he took well.

And I mean, he's his personality.

He's more like a pleaser.

And he's trying to, you know, make sure that I was happy with everything that he was doing.

He always looked for the approval.

So I think his personality match how, you know, my approach of coaching.

I think it definitely helped me way more than if he wasn't tough on me, because it made me like better as a player and made me like more toughened up.

He eventually joined dad's program at Washington High School by coming in as a freshman.

While his soccer knowledge and skills were strong, young Felipe's conditioning was not.

I saw, like all my other freshman friends, getting minutes on varsity and I was on varsity, but I didn't play as much.

So after that, I realized, like, okay, I got to lock in and like really like focus up.

He started doing stuff on his own, going to the fields constantly with the bag of balls.

He started going to the gym and started looking for nutrition stuff, and I think that was when I was, you know, it was a big turning point for him.

He blossomed into a standout at Washington, playing the all important center midfield position, excelling in a more defensive minded role as a sophomore and junior before switching remarkably well to an attacking, offensive minded role as a senior, playing every role in the midfield helped me realize, like how to do everything and, it was like, perfect.

That's like kind of where I landed in the middle.

And I definitely do take a lot of pride in that, like knowing that, like, I need to be like a complete player because he's so fit, you know, he can run all day long so he can go back defensively.

And when he gets in the in the attacking third, he career goals and you create all the opportunities.

And his soccer IQ grew a lot.

You know the last couple of years as well.

So he finds some really good passing.

He has a great vision of the game.

It's resulted in a lot of wins and achievements.

But more importantly, special memories for father and son to be able to go through, like every single experience, basically every single experience of the season with him, like at home and here, it's definitely like a nice feeling to do with him.

There's only, you know, few people can say they can do this.

And you know what you love with your son and also be his passion.

So, I mean, I think this and I'm trying to cherish every single moment, every single second coming full circle for young Felipe, that baby in the stands, 18 years ago has earned and accepted a scholarship to play at UW.

Hopefully I can make the same impact as him, even though it's a very large goal, a very big thing to big shoes to fill 18 years later, watching him, you know, his first game when he wears the, University of Florida jersey, I'm probably going to have to be hold myself or not come to tears in the beginning of the game and trying to focus and actually the game, and what's happening.