HUDSON, Ohio — Aiden Lal, a senior running back for Hudson, is a star not to be reckoned with. This type of player doesn’t come around often for certain schools, but when you come across a player like Lal, you can’t help but be thankful.

Lal was born and raised in Hudson and came from a family full of sports stars in their own right which explains why he is who he is on the football field.

Lal gets his athletic gifts from his father who was one of the top junior tennis players in the country growing up. His mother was a star growing up, playing basketball and volleyball. Lal’s stepfather played football and track and his older brother played football and basketball as well.

Having a family that grew up on athletics and knows what it takes to be the best will definitely breed a player like Lal. Now Lal has the credentials of being a star and reaching bigger heights while carrying on his family’s legacy.

Before Lal became a phenom on the football field, he was a dominant player on the hardwood. Lal played basketball up until high school and it was then he heard the gridiron call his name to play.

“Honestly, my first love was basketball, and I played at a pretty elite level in AAU basketball up until 9th grade,” Lal said. “I played for OBC (Ohio Basketball Club) in the Adidas Gauntlet basketball circuit. However, once sophomore year hit, I slowly grew to like football more than basketball each day.”

Lal’s basketball team was sponsored by Adidas in 8th grade and ranked 12th in the country. The love for basketball will never go away for him, but football just felt different for him as time passed.

Lal played Pop Warner throughout his childhood. In order for Lal to play the position he loved (running back), he had to lose weight every year just for him to run the ball because he was always a bigger kid than everyone else.

“I’ve always wanted to be a running back,” he said. “Due to a weight limit, I would have to lose weight every year during youth football just so I’d be allowed to run the ball, since I was just a naturally bigger kid.”

Weight limit or not, Lal would have pushed himself to the max so he could run the football. All that training to lose weight during Pop Warner years shaped him into the athlete he is today.

While other players slack off during the offseason, Lal never slacked. He knows the importance of the offseason and why it is very crucial when trying to become the greatest you can be.

The offseason is a chance to build yourself and gain an edge on the opponent when it comes to season time. Lal would take offseason like it was his last time playing on the gridiron.

When you have a player who is constantly working on his craft and taking every rep to get better, it starts to show on the football field, and he then starts to separate himself from the pack.

“The offseason is what makes you perform during the real season, so I’d say the offseason is very important to me,” Lal said. “Training daily to get better and become the next level.”

Lal did just that, racking up 1,000 yards in just seven games this season. He rushed for 16 touchdowns and caught a pass for a touchdown, leaving him with an overall 17 touchdowns on the year.

At the end of the season, Lal received All Ohio honors in just seven games which is very impressive. This honor speaks volumes on the type of player he is.

Even though Lal tallied up all of these awards, he still wanted to achieve more. Not for him but for his teammates.

“I was able to achieve All Ohio honors in seven games, which is an honor, but as for team goals, unfortunately we weren’t able to achieve all of them,” Lal said. “But overall, I felt like it was a great season considering how young our team was this year.”

The end of the season it was hard for Lal. He had a difficult decision to make and that was choosing the right school for him. He had offers from Virginia, Marshall, Army, Kent State, Akron, Yale, Harvard and some others at the time of his commitment.

All of these schools are amazing institutions, but there was something about Air Force that stood out to Lal more than the other schools that pursued him.

100% COMMITTED❗️⚡️✈️ #BOLTBROTHERHOOD #PROMISE @AF_Football @CoachTCalhoun @CoachTimHorton @CowsetteCoach @Coach_Gough @RollHudFootball @AllenTrieu @CSmithScout pic.twitter.com/tGT2i9nhUS

— Aiden Lal (@LalAiden) April 20, 2021

“It was a pretty difficult process, but out of all the coaches and teams that pursued me, I feel like they really built the strongest relationship with me,” Lal said. “Their offense will suit me well with the triple option. Also, when I went on my visit, it really just felt like home from the start.”

Going into Lal’s freshman year of college, he wants to hit the ground running. If there is any way he can help his new team win next year, he will do it at a high level.

Setting goals for himself during his college career will be very beneficial for him because it will make him want to do more and more each day, whether that’s on the field or off the field.

“My goals heading forward are to build a very successful college career on and off the field,” Lal said. “Help my team succeed in any way possible. Make my family proud every step of the way. And if the opportunity is to present itself, make my childhood dream of the NFL come true.”

Congratulations to Lal and we hope to see him prosper at the next level on Saturdays.

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