Houston’s Ethan Sanchez blessed by parents’ sacrifices
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Perla Paredes Hernández, Contributor
- October 24, 2025
Ethan Sanchez proves to be clutch for Cougars
HOUSTON – Ethan Sanchez was less than 8 months old when he kicked his first ball. As a baby, the University of Houston kicker would somehow walk from wall to wall kicking a soccer ball back and forth while learning how to walk.
He would kick the ball, scoot toward it by holding on to the wall to keep his balance. Sanchez would wobble his way from one wall to another at his childhood home in Dallas, Georgia. That was the start of a relentless passion. The three-time Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Week this season started playing soccer when he was 3 years old.
He was inspired by his father Jose and older twin brothers Jonathan and Nathaniel. Jose Sanchez loved soccer so much, he almost named Ethan “Diego Maradona Sanchez,” after the Argentinian soccer legend. Jose tried to inconspicuously hand Aly their son’s birth certificate paperwork after Ethan was born.
Aly regained consciousness after being under anesthesia just in time to shut that name down immediately. The Sanchezes’ life revolved around soccer for years. Ethan Sanchez pivoted to football in high school. He now represents the family’s work ethic proudly at the University of Houston.
Immigrants’ sacrifice
His work ethic and mindset came from his parents. Aly and Jose Sanchez met in their hometown of San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, while visiting their families. Aly lived in Georgia. Jose lived in Texas. Weeks after first visiting Aly in Georgia, Jose sold his truck and belongings he couldn’t carry. He took only a green duffel bag, one that has weathered over the last three decades.
“He still has (the green duffel bag) as a reminder of what he did,” Ethan Sanchez said. “He just had a bag full of clothes and a big heart.”
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With a gold cross necklace resting across his chest, Ethan is grateful for the values his parents instilled in him. He appreciates the sacrifices his Mexican immigrant parents made along the way. His two older brothers have engineering degrees.
Ethan, a senior transfer from Old Dominion, is a few classes shy of securing his biomedical degree.
“I love representing the name on my back, ‘Sanchez,’ because I come from a family of hardworking people who made a lot of sacrifices,” he said. “But it’s all about the name on the front. It’s about the Cougars and what we can do this season.”
Fearing injury
Growing up, there were endless car rides to practice with Ethan in the back seat doing homework, surrounded by his prepared snacks and drinks. Each week involved meticulous planning to travel from state to state at times, making sure all of the Sanchez boys had a parent present and everything they needed.
That lifestyle continued until Ethan’s freshman year at North Paulding High School. As Aly was busy planning which soccer club her son would join next, Ethan told her he wanted to try something new.
“No, you’re going to get hurt, mijo,’” Ethan remembers his parents saying
“I’ll be the kicker, and hopefully I won’t get hit. I’ll just stay back there and kick it,” Ethan assured them.
Aly remembers feeling a tug in her heart. She tried to convince him to keep playing soccer by promising to buy him the newest Cristiano Ronaldo shoes, cleats or any apparel he wanted if he stuck with it. She reminded him that coaches were already asking about him and that he didn’t even need to try out to make their teams. But in football, he didn’t need to try out either.
Ethan walked up to his high school football coach and asked if he could join the team, explaining that he was a good kicker because of his soccer background. The coach agreed and invited him to practice, telling him he hoped he was ready. Ethan was.
‘Swag’
“One day he left me pretty speechless, he said, ‘Mom, you and dad have always instilled in us that we have to give our all to whatever we do. I’ve given my all to soccer, and all I am asking is that you please support me because I want to give my all to football,’” Aly said.
When he decided to play football, he asked Aly to trust him, and she’s been doing that ever since. She trusted him when he chose to attend Old Dominion instead of committing to bigger schools. Aly and Jose trusted him again three years later when he transferred to Houston.
Sanchez has been a reliable presence for the Cougars. He has made 15 of 18 field goal tries (83.3 percent), with a long of 52 yards. Combined with 21 PATs, he has 66 points this season. Sanchez has made two game-winning field goals in the closing seconds for the Cougars, who are 6-1, 3-1 in the Big 12 heading into their visit to Arizona State on Saturday.
Last Saturday, Sanchez hit a 41-yard field goal as time expired to give Houston a 31-28 victory over the Arizona Wildcats. Afterward, he leapt into the stands at TDECU Stadium to celebrate with UH fans, replicating the Green Bay Packers’ famous Lambeau Leap.
“He has the most aura in the Big 12,” Cougars quarterback Conner Weigman said of Sanchez. “It’s cool being able to give him those chances to go win the game like that. We trust him with everything. From the coaching staff to me to our receivers, we know he is going to go make those kicks, so it’s fun to watch him.”
Perla Paredes Hernández
Contributor
Perla Paredes Hernández, a recent graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, worked at The Daily Texan for two years, covering women’s golf, men’s tennis, football, soccer, volleyball and beach volleyball. She served as social media coordinator for Texas Student Television’s sports department, where she hosted shows, provided analysis across nearly every Texas sport, and took on off-camera roles such as stage manager and assistant director.
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