Machado: Living every kid's dream

Machado gets to eat what he wants in order to gain weight to play football.


  • By
  • | 9:00 a.m. August 3, 2015
Alex Machado takes a bite out of a chicken sandwich. Photo by Christina Machado
Alex Machado takes a bite out of a chicken sandwich. Photo by Christina Machado
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Most kids wish to reach a Little League State tournament or the World Series. Most would love to excel in any sport where they could contribute to a team. While these are true, nearly every kid would love to freely eat as he wishes for breakfast lunch and dinner. Alex Machado is not only allowed, but he’s encouraged to do so.

Now that baseball season is over, Machado will focus on football for the next few months. While he’s talented enough to play, his small physique could hinder him from getting on a team, unless he puts on enough pounds to meet the Pop Warner requirement.

“His football coach told him to eat peanut butter and jelly with a big glass of milk every night,” said Christina Machado, his mother. “We’re trying to feed this kid whatever he will eat, along with protein and milk shakes, and that works pretty well. He’s just very active, so we have to try to keep the weight on him.”

While this may seem like a tough task to make a football team, don’t shed any tears for Machado; he’s in kid heaven.

“Are you kidding me? He loves it,” Christina Machado laughs. “We have to try to feed him four times a day, and he is definitely using this to his advantage. He’s always asking for candy bars and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and I would usually, say, ‘Come on, it’s like 10 o’clock at night.’ Then, he’d say, ‘Well, I really need to eat,’ so he’s definitely loving it. I still make him eat the vegetables he doesn’t want to eat, but he doesn’t care because he knows he will get dessert every night.”

“I get to eat a lot of ice cream, cheese burgers, chicken sandwiches and pizza,” Alex Machado said. “It’s fun that I get to eat a lot of calories to gain weight.”

As of today, Machado’s mother says that he currently weighs 80 pounds, which is .7 ounces over the minimum weight requirement for him to play.

 

Annabelle  cheers on the All-stars on her mother, Christina's, shoulders. Photo by Jeff Dawsey
Annabelle cheers on the All-stars on her mother, Christina's, shoulders. Photo by Jeff Dawsey

“I get to eat a lot of ice cream, cheese burgers, chicken sandwiches and pizza,” Alex Machado said. “It’s fun that I get to eat a lot of calories to gain weight.”-Alex Machado

 

 

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