Tom Brady Reveals His Secrets for a Perfect Pass While Making a Wish Come True for a Young Quarterback (Exclusive)

Tom Brady just made a young fan’s wish come true.

On Friday, Aug. 16, the 47-year-old retired NFL star partnered with Fanatics and Make-A-Wish to meet and throw some passes with 12-year-old Christopher Sanchez during the Fanatics Fest at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City.

“So I got to meet Chris today and he’s from South Florida, so we had a lot of things in common. He loves football. He’s the quarterback, so it’s just fun to hang with him,” Brady tells PEOPLE exclusively about the moment he shared with Sanchez, who was first diagnosed with Leukemia when he was 6 years old.

Among those connections is a shared passion for football and the fact that both Brady and Sanchez played for the wolverines. For the former quarterback, that was during his time playing for the University of Michigan, while the mascot for Sanchez’s school, where he also serves as quarterback on the team, is the wolverines.

Sanchez’s mother, Liane, tells PEOPLE that while “the circumstances that brought us here are painful to think about,” that “this is a really happy moment.” She adds, “He’s healthy and he’s going to enjoy it and we’re so so excited.”

According to Sanchez, his goal is to play for the NFL when he grows up. And upon hearing that young fan — who is now in remission — dreams of following in his footsteps, Brady says, “Wow, I love that.”

Sanchez’s other hope while meeting Brady was to learn how to hold and throw a football just like the former New Englands Patriot star. And according to the athlete, there are “a lot of things” that go into throwing that perfect pass.

When asked for his top three tips, Brady tells PEOPLE, “What I taught him was to really point your left shoulder, right, your target, and then when you rotate your body, you got to rotate it kind of opposite of the way that you normally would.”

He adds, “Most people go right-handed, they just want to open their left shoulder. So close your left shoulder a little bit, take a really fast stride with your left to get a lot of energy, and then really reach for your target.”

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Looking back on Sanchez’s effort, Brady says, “He did really well. He’s actually throwing the ball good. He’s got a shot. He’s a good little athlete.”

Fanatics Fest, meanwhile, kicked off on Friday with an appearance from Brady, who also joined sports media personality Stephen A. Smith for a panel called “True Grit.” Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin brought together top current and former athletes from the NFL, NBA and MLB to celebrate the intersection of sports and entertainment.

Other panels on Friday include a tribute to the New York Knicks featuring superfans Ben Stiller and Spike Lee with Knicks players Josh Hart and Jalen Brunson, a discussion between MLB legends David Ortiz and Derek Jeter called “Character Counts” and Eli Manning celebrating a 100 years of New York Giants football.

The event runs through Sunday, Aug. 18 and features panels, multiple stages and theaters, exclusive merchandise, live podcasts and major announcements.

Brady’s appearance at Fanatics Fest comes just after the retired quarterback took his daughter Vivian Lake, 11, on a trip to Paris for the Summer Olympics.

In a recap post shared on Instagram, Brady said, “I didn’t quite know what to expect going into @Paris2024, but our three days truly went above and beyond what I could ever have imagined.”

“We saw athletes from many sports and many countries, but it was especially meaningful to be able to come to this incredible city with my daughter and watch the most powerful women I’ve ever seen fight for gold, silver and bronze,” he continued. “For the first time in Olympic history there was a 50:50 split of female and male athletes, a stat I was proud to tell Vivi as she watched these heroes compete.”“

I’ve said it a few times lately, but we should all aspire to do HARD things,” Brady wrote. “Whether it’s in sports or in life, push yourself beyond your comfort zone to see what you can really accomplish. Just like these athletes all across the world have done!”

“Congratulations to the champions, the competitors and the entire city of Paris on a once in a lifetime event With countless memories and enduring relationships,” he concluded his post.