Passionate Crows supporter Enzo Cornejo and his own biggest supporters, his school friends, had a special visit to West Lakes this week to meet their favourite AFL players through the Adelaide Crows Foundation.

Football mad Enzo has the extremely rare condition Progeria – the disease of premature and rapid ageing – which occurs in an estimated 1 per 20 million people worldwide.

Enzo is the only known Australian with Progeria but, despite his medical challenges, he is a bright and energetic 11-year-old who loves school, playing with his friends and footy.

After hearing about Enzo and his love for the Crows in The Advertiser’s SA Weekend magazine, the family was invited for a behind-the-scenes experience at the Club through the Adelaide Crows Foundation’s Crows Care program, which sees players and staff deliver experiences to support children and youth in need.

Head of Football Adam Kelly provided a tour of the football facilities followed by an opportunity to watch AFL training and trade jokes with players.

Although he has to be careful with what he does physically, Enzo enjoyed testing the equipment in the Club’s gym and kicking goals with some of his favourite players including Taylor Walker.

Together with his friends Ashton, Brodie, Oisin, Daniel, Lewis, Josh and Rachel, who were invited to join him for the day, he also took great joy in trying his hand at adjusting the cameras in the control room where the high-performance team was capturing training.

Aside from the Crows, Enzo’s other passion is making videos for his YouTube channel, Enzocubehead, and while he was at the Club he made sure to recruit Taylor Walker to assist him in gaining new subscribers to take him past the 500 milestone.

Crows Executive General Manager Community and Foundation Casey Grice said the Crows Care program is all about providing memorable experiences for children and youth who are facing challenges.

“We were so pleased we could host Enzo and his friends at the Club and provide what was hopefully an unforgettable morning,” Grice said.

“Enzo’s energy and positive approach to life is hugely inspiring and the players got a lot of joy out of meeting him.”

The Adelaide Crows Foundation engages children and youth each year through its health and education programs which use the power of sport to help them reach their full potential.

Read more about Enzo’s story at Welcome to Team Enzo - Home (teamenzoprogeria.com) and visit his YouTube channel here.