Ruden Sports News

In order to help support his fundraising efforts stemming from his playing days with one football team, Alex LaPolice is enlisting the help of a famous teammate from another. On Thursday night at Elm Restaurant in New Canaan, LaPolice will be appearing with childhood friend and Denver Broncos defensive lineman Zach Allen.

It is part of a drive as LaPolice prepares to run next month in the Boston Marathon on behalf of Team IMPACT’s GoTeam. The event begins at 5, and Elm is giving 15 percent of the night’s earnings to LaPolice’s efforts. In addition, Allen will be auctioning off a special pair of cleats.

“It’s going to be a good event and nice to be doing something together with Zach,” said LaPolice, who is currently a senior associate at Summit Partners in Boston.

LaPolice and Allen worked their way up through the New Canaan youth football program together and then starred for the Rams, helping them win two state championships. Upon graduation, both headed to Massachusetts to play college football, LaPolice at Harvard and Allen at Boston College.

In 2016, the Harvard football team partnered with Team IMPACT, which matches children facing serious illness and disability with college sports teams. The Crimson were paired with Daniel Grapski, who was suffering from a rare form of kidney cancer.

LaPolice, who will be attending Stanford business school in the fall and then return to Summit in two years as a vice president, had committed to the marathon as part of a group of close to 20 from the firm running on behalf of a former managing director who passed away.

“I decided that was something that was important to me, particularly knowing that it was going to be kind of my last opportunity here for at least another two years,” LaPolice said. “I wanted to do it for something that was important to me and held a special place in my heart. Daniel had a National Letter of Intent day, he became a member of the Harvard Crimson, he came to our practices, he came to our games, a select few went to his house for family dinners, he came to our team meals. Team IMPACT does a remarkable job.”

LaPolice, who has raised just over half his target goal of $15,000, then reached out to Allen, a former third round pick of the Cardinals who just finished his first year with the Broncos after signing as a free agent.

“I thought what better way to do it then with Zach when he’s home, putting on an event back home, the combination of athletics and myself and New Canaan football,” Allen said. “It would be a good opportunity. Then, to put the cherry on top, because Zach did My Cleats My Cause for Team IMPACT, we’ll auction away the cleats at the end of the night.

My Cleats My Cause is an NFL promotion where players have the opportunity to pick a cause that is important to them and represent their chosen organization on custom designed cleats one game each season.

The marathon is exactly four weeks away and LaPolice is again summoning his athletic ability, albeit in a new direction for a different end game.

“I’m felling pretty good. I’m not out here trying to break any records,” LaPolice said. “I’ve wanted to get it done, this is the one I always wanted to do and I wanted to raise money for a great cause. If I do those two things and then hug my mom and dad at the finish line, that’s all I can really ask for.”

Anyone that would like to donate to Alex LaPolice’s fundraising efforts can do so by clicking on this link.