Brady honors player request, salutes Foundation Academy coach with signed jersey
Former Foundation Academy lineman Bailey Trinder had to wait nearly two years, but it was worth it.
Trinder wanted to do something special for coach Brad Lord. In 2018, Trinder survived a horrific accident, rolling his truck while driving from practice to his home in rural Lake County. Doctors weren’t sure if Trinder was going to survive as dozens of well-wishers packed the Orlando Regional Medical Center waiting room.
He made it and last year was named the Orlando Sentinel’s Bill Buchalter Spirit Award winner in honor of his push to volunteer as a coach while working to recover from the accident. Unfortunately for Trinder, he’ll never walk again, bound to a wheelchair for the rest of his life.
Lord, a native of Massachusetts, was right there with Trinder all along, so the player wanted to do something special for his coach. He reached out to then-Patriots quarterback Tom Brady in numerous ways, and his perseverance finally paid off.
Brady contacted Trinder and the plan was set in motion.
The former player gave his coach an autographed photo of Brady along with a framed No. 68 Foundation jersey, Trinder’s number, signed by Brady.
“I was glad to get it done for Coach Lord,” Bailey said. “I was really surprised. I was just kind of shocked when it came and also just thrilled about it.
“Just as our football season ended, when I still went to FA, I decided to write a letter to Mr. Brady explaining everything that Coach Lord has done for me with the wreck, and going back to school and being on the football team again.”
Lord considered Trinder a part of the football team after the crash and asked him to help coach the offensive line when he returned to school in the spring.
“I asked Mr. Brady if we could send him my jersey and just have him sign it and he could just send it back,” Trinder said. “I was going to put it in a frame and all. He said, ‘No, just send the jersey,’ and then he sent it back in a custom frame and all.
“It was just so overwhelming just because Coach Lord has done so much for me. Just to have Tom Brady being able to reach out to me and to [honor] that little request for Coach Lord was amazing.”
Foundation Academy President Dave Buckles helped surprise Lord. He set up a video shoot for the school’s website disguised as an introduction of new football coach Andre Walker, who is taking over for Lord after he announced his plans to step down and into an office role at the school.
At the end of the video, however, Trinder wheeled himself into the room and presented Lord with the jersey.
“Wow. That was just amazing. And for me being a guy who grew up in Massachusetts with Tom Brady, Larry Bird and Big Papi being my heroes, ... it brought tears to my eyes,” Lord said. “Bailey is just an amazing young man. So we were [handing] over [coaching duties] to Coach Walker ... when Bailey came in there, I thought he was the surprise.
“For him to go out of his way and do that, and then with Tom Brady responding and pouring his heart out to Bailey, it was a really special moment.”
Proof of Lord’s allegiance to Patriots Nation and Brady is quite obvious. He named his son Brady Lord, who just finished his sophomore season as a defensive back for Foundation.
“My wife [Amy] will tell you it was not because of Tom Brady,” Lord laughed. “I’m a Bucs fan now, too.”
Brady didn’t stop with the tribute to Lord. He also had some words of encouragement for Trinder, which he sent via video.
“Bailey, I just wanted to say that you and your story have inspired me so much and so may others,” Brady said. “After all that you’ve been through and the fact that you want to keep paying it forward to Coach Lord really moved me.”
Trinder has adjusted to life after the accident and he said he’s doing fine as he navigates the world in his wheelchair. He’s a freshman at Stetson and he’s playing ice hockey with the Space Coast Blast club team, which travels around the country to compete.
“I’m doing pretty good. I’m at college right now ... I have a dorm that I stay in, so everything is pretty good,” Trinder said.