Leading the charge
New Canaan’s Brady signs with Army
NEW CANAAN — During his introduction for Ned Brady, who was about to sign his National Letter of Intent to Army on Wednesday, New Canaan athletic director Jay Egan referenced the bio which had been sent out by the football team at West Point.
Brady’s read, in part, “it was the only place he ever really wanted to go.”
That message, Egan said, was prominent in the bios of Army’s other incoming football players as well.
“You start to think about the type of people that are at institutions like Army, Navy and Air Force, not only as the type of football players they are, but the type of people they are,” Egan said. “For me, it’s comforting that we have people like Ned who are willing to devote the time and effort for our country.”
Brady finally made his decision to play at the United States Military Academy at West Point official during a National Signing Day ceremony in New Canaan’s Waveny House on Wednesday. Family, friends and coaches were on hand to celebrate the football captain’s commitment.
A 6-foot-5, 245-pound lineman, Brady had verbally committed to play football for Army in July, calling the decision “a dream.”
“The military is always something I’ve wanted to do and the chance to get the education and play DI football is a great opportunity,” Brady said. “When I was younger, exploring in the woods, pretending like fake battles and things like that. It’s the only thing I’ve ever pictured myself doing and I’m really excited.”
“He’s a very strong leader,” New Canaan coach Lou Marinelli said. “When you talk about some of the best players I’ve had here, you have to put Ned in that con
versation. He’s a guy who led by example and never really came off the field. He keeps kids accountable and tries to get the best out of his teammates.
“He was leading the charge all the time.”
Brady’s older brother Tiernan, a New Canaan football alum who went to Sacred Heart University, recently joined the Army with an eye on special forces. Ned said he’s spoken at length with his brother to get a better idea about life in the military.
“They’re special kids and a special family,” Marinelli said. “You just don’t replace kids like Ned.”
A New Canaan captain alongside Conor Bailey, Vin Cognetta and Henry Cunney this season, Brady helped lead the Rams to a 10-2 record and a fourth consecutive Turkey Bowl win over rival Darien.
While the Rams were knocked out in the Class LL semifinals, the end of the
season had Brady thinking about what was lost last fall when the CIAC season was canceled due to the pandemic.
“I felt so bad for the seniors last year and I didn’t really realize what they were missing out on until the end of this season,” Brady said. “Being with the guys that I’ve grown up with the past 10 years was amazing. The type of team that we had and the bonds that we had were just awesome.
“Even though we didn’t finish with all the hardware we might have wanted, we proved a lot of people wrong.”
On Saturday, the annual Army-Navy football game was held and that had Brady thinking about his football future.
“I was thinking about that,” Brady said. “Even going to the Army games, it’s pretty surreal thinking that I might be on that field in front of all those people. It’ll be cool.”