EAGAN, Minn. — Kevin O'Connell had to do a double take.

The Vikings head coach had just walked into the Indoor Practice Facility of Twin Cities Orthopedics Performance Center, his long strides carrying him quickly toward players warming up for a Saturday morning walk-through session.

But when he glanced toward the sideline, he noticed … a carbon copy of himself?

O'Connell smiled broadly and pointed toward 11-year-old Zy Brown, who was dressed from head to toe as the Vikings leader, from the white Air Force 1s, purple Vikings quarter-zip and purple baseball cap to the memorial "KJ" pin honoring Khyree Jackson and the Bose headset pulled over his ears.

"Nailed it," O'Connell laughed, walking over. "It's absolutely perfect."

Zy matched the coach's smile and extended an arm to meet O'Connell's fist bump.

The January visit for Zy and his family was hosted by the Vikings and Make-A-Wish Minnesota, a branch of the national nonprofit. Initially inspired in 1980 by 7-year-old Christopher James Greicius, who battled leukemia, Make-A-Wish today has granted hundreds of thousands of life-changing wishes to children battling critical illnesses.

Wishes like Zy's, to be a Vikings coach for a day, help provide families hope through dark times, strength to persevere and experiences that forever change their lives.

"It's amazing," said Zy's mother Yasmeen as she watched her son interact with O'Connell. "I've seen all the lows, so it's amazing to now see all the highs."

On March 1, 2024, Zy had gone into the hospital to have what initially was deemed a normal cyst removed. Three days later, he and his family received frightening news: the growth actually was osteosarcoma, a type of bone cancer.

Zy spent the next eight months undergoing extremely aggressive chemotherapy that took an immense toll on his young body.

"It was really hard on him," Yasmeen said. "And he had to stop playing football, stop his normal life at school, everything. It was really difficult."

Thankfully, the chemo did its job. Zy celebrated his 11^th birthday on Nov. 4 with his final treatment; on Nov. 29, scans showed he was completely cancer free.

Yasmeen said she and Zy had begun talking about his wish several months beforehand, and she knew he'd choose something surrounding the Vikings. He'd started playing flag football at age 6 and after a couple of years transitioned to tackle football.

"He's just super, super into football," Yasmeen chuckled. "He loves Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison; they're his absolute favorites. We've been to Vikings games together, and we follow the team everywhere. We're all huge Vikings fans.

"When they told him he would be able to get a Wish granted, his first idea was wanting to go to the Super Bowl … but then was like, 'How about I be the Vikings coach for a day?' He was super excited, and we are extremely thankful," Yasmeen added.

O'Connell is equally thankful for the opportunity to spend time with young people like Zy, who had been overjoyed to walk into a conference room and find the complete coach's outfit laid out for him.

"Everybody did a great job, down to every detail. He was ready to go," O'Connell commented. "He was ready to walk out there and start calling plays and run the show."

Zy stayed by O'Connell's hip, watching him run plays and offer feedback or pointers to his players. The young fan even got a chance to call a couple of plays for quarterback Sam Darnold, who also leaned into the experience.

Following the walk-through, Zy broke down the Vikings huddle and then was able to meet and receive autographs from many players — including Jefferson and Addison.

What was the best part of today, Zy?

"Everything," he gleamed.

Zy's story is just one of 10 Make-A-Wish Minnesota experiences the Vikings hosted throughout the 2024 season.

Saturday visits are not new to the Vikings organization, as previous coaches also have invited individuals facing challenges to attend the team's walk-through sessions. But O'Connell and his wife Leah have put forth special effort and emphasis on young people since taking the helm in Minnesota in 2022.

"We look at how blessed we are as a family and the opportunity to be in such an unbelievable community here in the Twin Cities and be part of the Minnesota Vikings organization, so my mind always goes to helping people and using the platform that we do have to help people," O'Connell explained. "There's something about kids, and kids that want to use their time — which is very valuable regardless of what they're going through — [here with us].

"That smile you get could be the one smile on a really tough [day] for them, and that's powerful," he added. "Getting to see the amount of courage and the amount of hope and the amount of love within their families [is incredible]."

Carleen Melin, Make-A-Wish Minnesota Senior Director of Mission Delivery, noted how naturally interactive and patient O'Connell is with children who visit the facility.

"Coach O'Connell is incredible with Wish Kids and families. He goes out of his way to make Wish Kids feel like they are an all-star and part of the team," Melin said. "He regularly hands out the first game ball of the weekend, answers endless questions, signs autographs, has Wish Kids out on the field with him to call plays and so much more.

"Even on big game weekends, he makes them and their families feel like he has all the time in the world to spend with them," Melin continued, "and the care and good character Coach O'Connell exhibits shows up in the players, as well."

As one might expect, many Wishes submitted by young Vikings fans center on meeting Jefferson, the master of The Griddy himself.

The phenom receiver consistently embraces the chance to make a difference in a child's life, and he even had special "Justin Jefferson Boxes" designed to present an additional gift to join the Vikings swag the Wish Kid and family already receive. Jefferson last season did multiple Griddy dance-offs, caught touchdown passes from youngsters in No. 18 jerseys and posted for numerous post-practice photos.

"Our guys are such professionals that they can handle being very serious about what we're trying to do the next day but, at the same time, understand the impact that we can have and the joy that we can bring to a young child, or somebody who's been through something they may be currently fighting — a battle versus something that you know is real adversity," O'Connell said. "We want to provide them with a chance to smile, chance to be around their favorite players, their favorite team. It's something that's kind of become one of the best parts about our in-season experience throughout the week, having that moment where we know we're going to be able to, as a team, uplift and bring joy to somebody."

Earlier in the season, the team welcomed 12-year-old Kyler Smith, who has been a dedicated Vikings fan from a young age.

Kyler's mother Heather explained he'd been diagnosed in-utero with a congenital heart defect and has undergone three open-heart surgeries: one at 3 weeks old, one at 3 months and one at 3 years.

"He's doing great now," Heather said. "But with his heart condition, he can't play football. Playing Madden and watching the Vikings is his way to be a part of it, even though he [physically] can't. It's his way to feel like football is his thing."

Kyler wished to meet All-Pro safety Harrison Smith, with whom he shares a last name.

Having been a fan of "Harry the Hitman" for his whole life (quite literally, considering Harrison is entering his 14^th NFL season), Kyler's face lit up when he walked into the Vikings Indoor Practice Facility and spotted No. 22 across the field.

Harrison jogged over for a pre-practice greeting, prompting Kyler's eyes to glisten.

"Seeing those tears in his eyes when he met Harrison Smith was pretty awesome," Heather said.

"He was just glowing," added Kyler's father Nate. "I was just so happy to see him smile like that."

The family enjoyed watching Minnesota's walk-through session, after which Kyler was invited by O'Connell to help break down the team huddle. He received hugs, fist bumps and high-fives from numerous Vikings before being approached by Harrison, who threw his arm around Kyler's shoulders and pulled him off to the side to throw the football around.

"He looks up to those guys so much," Nate said. "It's just so heartwarming and great."

Kyler even got to do what no NFL player can ever say they've done: catch a touchdown pass from Harrison.

A leftie, Harrison received some good-natured ribbing from teammates and O'Connell when his first toss missed the mark by … quite a bit.

"Hey, I play defense," he quipped.

But Harrison geared up for a second attempt, and running back Aaron Jones, Sr., jumped in to cover Kyler. Harrison sent a perfect spiral into the air, and Kyler leapt to grab it, coming down with both feet firmly in the end zone.

And then, The Griddy.

"Take away that first attempt that Harry had, maybe with a little coaching from Aaron Jones, organically, and the next one was awesome," O'Connell said with a grin. "Kyler's a great, great kid, and you can tell just how special it was for him to get that time. … It turned into the entire team really embracing that experience."

Heather teared up herself as she took in the moment, commenting that Kyler's "personality really came out" interacting with the Vikings teammates.

"They were all so wonderful to us. It's weird to see them all without pads – they look like different people," she laughed. "And it's really cool to see how nonchalant they are with each other, how 'regular' they are, and how much they do for kids like Kyler."

Throughout the 2024 season, the Vikings hosted 10 different Wish Kids, providing each of them with a special experience that often included attended the team's Saturday walk-through and breaking down the huddle, in addition to unique and personalized elements to the day.

From Cooper's wish to throw a Hail Mary pass to Justin Jefferson, to Zy and Kyler's visits and Jacob joining the entire team in a SKOL Chant before wrapping practice, each young visitor received an experience they'll take with them forever. In Week 5, the Vikings even granted a Wish for a young fan in London, inviting Chester and his family to Saturday's walk-through and to a suite on game day.

It doesn't impact just the Wish Kids, though. O'Connell emphasized the true difference it makes to him and the players on every single occasion.

"We can go through each and every one of those 10 [and take away something special]," O'Connell said. "I recently took my own kids to the baseball card shop and saw one of the Wish Kids we'd hosted here, and I remembered him before he maybe even remembered me, went up to him and his family.

"Those are the special things that you can't really [take for granted]. Our season and our profession, they're about winning. It's about having success here," O'Connell said. "But the way we want to do it, and the culture that we built here, it's got to be about more than that, sometimes, and especially when you can have a positive impact on those kids."

Below is a list of Make-A-Wish visits hosted by the Vikings last season:

Cooper Estenson

Elijah Cariker

Chester Hughes (London)

Jacob Kirchner

Yonel Garcia

Gavynn Maas

Kyler Smith

Allen Brekke

Jon Lerach

Zy Brown