A teenage basketball player froze stiff when she noticed courtside her father had travelled 15 hours to surprise her for her birthday and watch her play. Aaron Alford has always done his best never to miss his daughter Aariele's birthday since he and her mother, Sophilia Jenkins, split up when Aariele was just two years old. Both parents remained on good terms, and every year, Aaron would be there for his daughter big day – until mother and daughter moved states a couple of years ago, making things more difficult. Aaron lives in Jackson, Mississippi, and Sophilia and Aariele live in Houston, Texas, roughly a 15-hour drive apart. Aariele had been saying she had wished her father could attend some of her basketball games, and so, ahead of her 15th birthday on November 16, Aaron decided to combine the two. He secretly liaised with Sophilia to plan the surprise, having not seen his daughter since Spring Break, earlier in the year. On the night of the game, at CE King High School, in Houston, Aaron snuck onto the bleachers with Sophilia, where he sat quietly until his daughter caught a glimpse of him.