Haiti trip unites Boone’s sons

With dad away on a West Coast business trip, mom pulled into the high school parking lot to scoop up her two boys after football workouts. In the leafy suburbs of Connecticut, this is known as common practice.

In many other area towns, it also is true if two sons of the New York Yankees manager were dissecting frogs in biology class, stopping at their hallway lockers or running across the athletic fields, there would be a bit more of a raucous.

This is Greenwich High. From any of the many wellknown families over the years to Tiki Barber’s football-playing sons, the second largest high school in Connecticut has a better handle on absorbing fame and fortune.

So as 5-foot-10 sophomore Brandon Boone pulls off his helmet for an interview the other day, none of his Cardinals teammates pause to badger him with whoops or hollers.

A few moments later, 5-7 junior Sergot Boone pulls off his helmet. Again, no barbs directed from passing teammates.

“The two also are so wellraised and such good kids, you wouldn’t know their dad is a major league baseball manager — they’re so humble,” coach Anthony Morello said. “We preach that. We have kids from every walk of life in Greenwich. The beautiful part is it’s a melting pot in itself. To bring everyone together from all facets and all areas of the town is one of the things I love most about here.”

Brandon is a backup quarterback. Sergot, a wide receiver and cornerback, is the starting placekicker.

Brandon looks and sounds like his dad. Sergot does not. The Boones adopted Sergot and his older brother Jeanel in 2014 from Kenscoff in the Haitian uplands south of Port-auPrince. This book of love and Haiti had its genesis with a 2012 visit by Aaron’s

wife, Laura. What began as anything but normal is now, nearly a decade later, a mom picking up her boys after practice.

“Surprisingly, it has all felt pretty normal,” Brandon said. “I feel like Sergot has always been there. He came when I was in the second grade. I feel like he has always been my brother, no matter what. Everyone adjusted well. We call each other a family.

“It’s fun being on the same team as him. I love bantering with him, messing with him.”

Standing next to Brandon, Sergot picked up on the vibe.

“When I came here, I so appreciated they accepted me into their family,” he said. “I really felt like I was home when I was with them. I felt accepted. It is such a great feeling.

“Also, I got this annoying but cool brother.”

Ten minutes later, Laura laughs and turns from the front seat to repeat the question, “Do you get along?”

“No, they actually do,” she said. “Like any family dynamic it has its struggles, and you have stuff that’s easier and stuff that’s harder. But I feel like it was a natural progression for us, biological or not. As they get older, they root for each other, which is pretty cool.”

Jeneal is a freshman soccer player at Western Connecticut.

“He’s really good,” Brandon adds quickly.

“The energy has gone down a little bit since he left,” said Sergot, separated from Jeneal for the first time. “But we’re adjusting.”

Laura told the New York Daily News in 2018 that she and Aaron were not looking for more kids in 2012. They had Brandon and Bella, now in middle school. They were living in Arizona. Aaron had started broadcasting for ESPN, a job that lasted until he was named Yankees manager in December 2017.

“My Haiti work? I just have a heart for it I think,” Laura said. “I started when I went on a typical trip with a group and … I don’t know.

I think the resilience of the people who live there. Its simplicity, yes, they have a lot of struggles, but there is strength and a peace there that we don’t really have here. That was appealing to me.”

She decided to go on that mission trip in 2012 with Highlands Church of Scottsdale, one made in partnership with Chances for Children. Helping to build a medical clinic, Laura first met Jeanel, who came from a nearby orphanage to help dig mud.

“Physically, there’s a lot of work to be done there,” Laura said. “There’s a lot of need. And lately it has been really sad.”

Shaking his head at the magnitude 7.2 earthquake that struck Haiti on Aug. 14, Sergot said, “It’s devastating.”

Laura returned to Haiti again as part of a program to help feed undernourished children and the trips continued. She has called it life-changing. She would learn Jeanel had a younger brother. Good works led to another two blessings. Two years later, the adoptions were complete. Jeanel and Sergot arrived in the U.S.

“Very inspirational,” Brandon said of his mom’s work. Looking over at Sergot, he said, “I’m glad she did it.”

With this context it is easy to understand why Aaron Boone teared up last year when asked about the Black Lives Matter Movement.

Brandon took a couple years away from football in middle school. He concentrated on the family business: baseball. His greatgrandfather Ray, his grandfather Bob, his uncle Bret and dad were all majorleague players. Far back in the family history, Daniel was a noted frontiersman.

“Going into high school I’m back with football,” Brandon said. “I haven’t played quarterback in a while, but I’m excited. This is one of the best football programs in the state. It’s an honor to be part of it. It’s amazing, especially after a year off because of COVID.”

With two juniors competing for the starting varsity job, Boone, who did get some 7-on-7 play in last

year, is in the development stage as a quarterback. He’ll get a lot of work in with the sophomore and junior varsity. He will play baseball in the spring. He’s a center fielder.

“I love both sports” he said. “I wasn’t pressured to do anything. Both sports kind of came to me and I enjoy both.”

“Aaron played football in pee wees and high school,” Laura said. “He always tells the story of how when he went to college at USC and got drafted he missed playing.”

Aaron and Bret essentially grew up in the Phillies clubhouse when Bob played in Philadelphia.

“We are an Eagles family,” Brandon said.

“And Aaron is a huge SC Trojans fan,” Laura said.

Haiti is not a baseball nation and its football is our soccer, which helps explains Sergot’s impressive leg.

“I played soccer since I was born,” he said. “I played here since I came when I was 8. Kicking a football was pretty easy for me to pick up. I was watching TV and my dad turned on a game once and from then on I was into football. I switched over playing three years ago.”

Sergot got in a ninthgrade season before COVID hit. Morello said freshman coach Frank Wells would put up game film and show Boone one-hopping kickoffs from the 5 into the end zone. In the joint practice last week with Hand, Morello said Sergot hit consecutive field goals of 30, 35, 40 and 45 yards against a rush.

“We knew we had a good leg,” Morello said. “We’re really excited.”

Aaron Boone, of course, will always have a special place in the hearts of Greenwich and anywhere there are Yankee fans. The 11th inning walk-off home run against the Red Sox in Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS made it a guarantee.

“He had been struggling after he had come over from Cincinnati, wasn’t hitting,” Laura said. “I knew he was going to pinch-hit at some point, because they were running out of players. I went to the rest room. I was nervous. I had to get up. I didn’t know he was coming to bat. I was literally walking back down the aisle when he hit it.”

Brandon and Sergot weren’t born yet.

“It’s definitely died down, but once in a while an adult will come up to me and say how he was there that night,” Brandon said. “They’re pretty mature about it. I don’t think they want to overload me.”

Dad’s no longer a majorleague player. He’s manager of the Yankees. And Yankee fans don’t expect to win some of the time. They expect to win all of the time.

“Being in Greenwich helps,” Brandon said, “but I still get it a little bit.”

Yankees great? Yankees stink?

Brandon smiles. “Usually the negative more than positive,” he said. “Most are Yankee fans, a lot of them are good. Older people on line or something will see my last name and ask and sometimes it’s not the most positive. People saying they would have done this instead in a game, stupid move. But otherwise, it’s pretty good. They’re winning now. Everyone’s happy.”

As we spoke, the Yankees were on a 12-game winning streak and I asked Laura what it felt like to be married to the smartest man in the world. Of course, Boone’s always one move away from bouncing between the smartest or dumbest man in baseball.

“And he does often,” Laura said, knowing the drill well. “So you can’t get too high or low. It’s harder for me. I’m like the mama bear wanting to protect my kids from a comment or a remark. Aaron is really strong. The kids are used to him being their dad and their friends don’t treat them any different.

“As a protective mom, you feel if you’re kids are a target, good and bad, if they get special treatment or picked on, you’re always nervous about that. For the most part we don’t feel that in Greenwich. There are moments, but a lot of it has been positive.”