Buena Vista (Colo.) High School and University of Colorado product Nate Solder has the good fortune of being part of one of the greatest football dynasties as a member of the New England Patriots. But he’s also a humble, grounded guy with roots still in his home town.
Solder was back in Colorado and stopped by the Mile High Sports AM 1340 | FM 104.7 studios to talk about his upcoming football camp in Buena Vista, as well as share some of his experiences playing alongside Tom Brady and for head coach Bill Belichick.
“I wanted to give back to the community of Buena Vista because it’s a tight knit community,” Solder said about the reason for hosting the camp in his home town. “It’s the foundation of where I came from, and it’s one small way I get to be a part of that. Second reason is we are raising funds for the Johnson family, which is becoming more popular of a story, but it’s very sad. It was a great family in Buena Vista. They were all killed in a rock slide, a few years back, so this is one way we can contribute to the legacy of that family and how much they impacted our community and keep that alive.”
For those unfamiliar, the award honors Buena Vista coaches Dwayne and Dawna Johnson, who were killed in 2013. The couple not only coached young athletes during the season, but also mentored them outside of sports to help develop successful young adults.
“I am so inspired,” Solder said about working with the Johnson’s All-Heart Award. “They send in their stories of assistant coaches from across the state and I read them and I’m like ‘How could I ever pick one of these people to win this award when they’re all so amazing?’ and it’s very inspiring what people are doing for young people across the state.”
Solder’s youth camp, which will be held this Saturday in Buena Vista, helps finance award. Registration is still open and interested individuals can contact [email protected] for more information. Registration is $25 and walk-ups will be welcome.
Of course, Ryan Edwards and Danny Williams couldn’t let the Super Bowl champ get away without talking a little football. Solder is fresh off his second Super Bowl victory, but says he doesn’t wear his rings very often.
“I rarely do,” he said, “but I actually did bring them up for the camp so kids could see them and check them out.”
At the helm for each of those victories was football’s winningest quarterback, Tom Brady.
As an offensive lineman, Solder has a special duty to protect Brady and a special relationship with his quarterback.
“He’s been awesome to me, he’s been a great teammate. We sit and talk about TED Talks a lot, you know? That’s kind of the thing we talk about, but, in terms of his performance and things, I am very humbled to be around him, the way that he goes about his game, the competitiveness that he has, the mental abilities he has, the way he can play at the age he is, it’s very awesome to be a part of a team with him,” he said.
He was more muted about his head coach, Bill Belichick, joking that “I don’t know if fashion is his main priority.”
As winners of two of the past three Super Bowls and with a team that looks even stronger than last year, there’s mounting pressure on Solder and the Patriots to complete the elusive perfect season and going down as the greatest single-season team in NFL history. The team, Solder says, isn’t letting itself get caught up in that talk.
“That’s what everyone’s been saying and I think that’s the trouble. We got to keep our mouth shut and just keep workin. It doesn’t matter what people are saying … That doesn’t matter because, you know, we play against some great competition and if we’re not performing, it doesn’t matter. You can run the greatest route in the world, you drop the ball, who cares, you know what I mean? So, we gotta perform when it really matters.”
Catch the full interview with Solder, including how he successfully returned from a 2015 injury, in the podcast below.
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