BROOKINGS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) – An unlikely friendship that started at a lemonade stand three years ago has left an impact on a young boy in Brookings. A South Dakota State football player\u2019s moment of kindness gave him a fan for life.
Sometimes, lives cross paths, and you hardly notice the people you run into. Sometimes, encounters change everything.
\u201cI saw a kid with a lemonade stand, and I like to, you know, I was a kid once, too,\u201d former SDSU cornerback Aydan Dautermann said.
Then-sophomore Jackrabbit cornerback Aydan Dauterman didn\u2019t have cash on him when he was on his way to a summer workout. He told six-year-old Kamden Hanson that he would be back later. There was some doubt that the stranger would keep his word.
\u201c\u2018He\u2019s going to come back for me! He\u2019s going to come back!\u2019 And I said, \u2018Buddy, I\u2019m not sure if he will come back, but maybe.\u2019 I was sitting outside, and he came back,\u201d Kamden\u2019s mom, Sarina Hanson, said.
Kamden was excited when he learned that the nice man who came back was a football player like him and was coaching in the same FCA flag football league.
Their interactions became more frequent, and the Hansons became like Dautermann\u2019s South Dakota family, with Kamden being a younger brother to mentor.
\u201cHe\u2019s very kind and very grateful, and he stands up for people. He stands up for me,\u201d Kamden said.
From watching games in the stands to meeting Dautermann\u2019s family to celebrating Christmas together to surprising Kamden at school when Aydan was back in town for his pro day, their bond is strong. The visit to Kam\u2019s school brought him to tears.
\u201cWe didn\u2019t realize how much Aydan meant to Kamden until that video of him running up to Aydan,\u201d Sarina said.
\u201cI knew I meant a lot to him, but not enough to make him cry. I didn\u2019t know I was really like that,\u201d Dautermann said.
Dautermann was an underclassman working to make a name for himself when he met Kamden. Their relationship was not out of him having a platform, just a small act of kindness, repaid to Dautermann by the Hansons being in his corner. Lives crossed, and Aydan found another little brother.
\u201cI would\u2019ve never thought that any of this would\u2019ve happened just from stopping at a lemonade stand, but I guess it just goes to show that small gestures can carry a lot of weight,\u201d Dautermann said.
\u201cWhen he went to my lemonade stand, he made my whole life,\u201d Kamden said.
\u201cHe was super excited when I was a nobody football player. The football aspect didn\u2019t even play a big part of how all this came up. The friendship, it just means so much,\u201d Dautermann said.
Dautermann was not selected in the NFL Draft; however, he hopes to get an invite to an NFL rookie mini camp and has spoken with seven teams. Outside of his family, the Hansons will be his number one fans, regardless of what his future holds.
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