What started as a normal football practice on a weeknight turned out very differently for one high school student in California. Samuel Harris, who goes by the nickname "Tote," was standing earlier this month in front of his football teammates after practice, sharing a short motivational speech about who is the person that inspires him.
The 16-year-old told his teammates that he respects many people in his family, but he would say his mom because she has been gone for about a year with the military. He added that she would continue to work hard as she is a hard worker. The video of Tote's message was captured and later shared by the football team's booster club.
The high school sophomore from the city of San Diego was in for a huge surprise as he had no idea that his mother, Tereca Harris, who had been deployed for nine months with the U.S. Navy, was standing behind him.
Tereca pulled off the surprise with the help of her son's football team
Tereca Harris told TODAY Parents in an interview that her initial date to return was not supposed to be until November, because that was when her orders were up, but her grandmother was ill, and she was not going to get better. Tereca said they allowed her to cut it short a couple of months, but the family decided not to tell Tote that she was coming home.
Tereca can be seen in the video waiting until her son had finished his speech and then grabbing his hand. An emotional Tote then picked his mom up in an emotional hug as they shared their much-awaited reunion.
Tote said there were so many tears as she had missed so much with her being gone and him in high school. He added that it was the pivotal one that they remember. The fact that they surprised him and he had no clue made the reunion even better for them.
Reunion an emotional moment for the entire Harris family
Head football coach Paul Lawrence said he was happy to accommodate the surprise. He added that Tote's father called him the day before and told him that his mom was coming in, and they wanted to be able to surprise him as he did not know.
Lawrence shared in the interview that he ends each football practice by having his players talk to the team. He figured it would be a good opportunity to distract Tote from the big surprise.
Lawrence, who served in the U.S. Army himself, did not hesitate to help facilitate the emotional moment for the Harris family. He said that they have a lot of coaches on their team that were in the military, so this was also a special moment for them because they know what it is like to see their kids after a long time.
