Everything seemed to be going right for Alema Max Tupuola at the start of his senior season for Davis High School in the fall of 2018. He was named a team captain, he had received several offers to play at the next level, and he had already collected three sacks through the first three games of the year. 

Shortly after recording his fourth sack early in the next game against Clearfield, something went wrong. The standout linebacker had injured his leg and he was finding it difficult to move from side to side. 

Tupuola returned for the next game, but he was still in pain and allowing plays to happen that he would usually be able to stop. He got it checked out a short time later and found out he had fractured his left fibula. His leg was broken, and his regular season had ended.

  “That really took a toll on me at first,” Tupuola said. “I was having the best season I had ever had. But then I had a conversation with my dad that changed my perspective. I had been voted a team captain. I took that role very highly, so I knew I needed to be there for my team.”

Suddenly finding himself physically unable to compete, he realized he would need to change from being a leader on the field to a leader on the sideline. He did everything he could to provide a boost to his teammates and help them to compete at the level he knew they could.

“Max is a resilient guy,” former head coach Mitch Arquette said. “He exhibited that by continuing to cheer on his teammates and show up to practice every day. He was coaching up the younger kids, helping the defense, helping the other linebackers, making certain they were in the right position.”

A few months after the end of the season, Tupuola announced that he would continue his football career at Weber State following his church mission to Apia, Samoa. He left for Samoa in November 2019 but had to return the following April due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Adversity had struck again.

After spending five months at home, he was reassigned to New York. However, this time he would only be able to stay for one month, after being hit by a different, more personal form of hardship – anxiety and depression.

“I never quite noticed it until New York,” Tupuola said. “I’ll always be grateful for that time in New York though, because it really helped me notice how mentally drained and hurt I was. I realized that I had been dealing with many dark, deep feelings for many years.”

Courageously, upon returning home he made a post on Facebook describing his battle, and encouraged others to reach out for help, just as he had done.   

“I don’t think it’s a subject that’s talked about enough,” Arquette said. “I think there’s a culture around sports, particularly in football, where you toughen up and you don’t talk about how you’re feeling or what your thoughts are. Max is very courageous in the way he did that.”

Now, Tupuola is preparing to start his first season at Weber State, where he’ll finally get the opportunity to get back to what he loves doing after overcoming so many challenges – destroying opposing offenses. 

“It’s been awesome. I absolutely love it up here,” Tupuola said. “It’s honestly been a dream come true. It’s something I’ve worked for my entire life.”

Reflecting on how much his life has improved since facing his mental health issues head on, Tupuola recognizes that he’ll still face many more challenges, but this time, he’ll be prepared.

“What I always tell myself when things get hard is that every storm comes to an end. No matter how big the storm is, every storm comes to an end.”