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It was Disney Day at Sierra Canyon High, so standout sophomore linebacker Eli Zamorano showed up at football practice wearing Mickey Mouse ears atop his head on Monday.

Walking past, teammates either stared or smiled at the ears.

“He’s a kid who beats to his own drum,” coach Jon Ellinghouse said.

It makes perfect sense, for it was Zamorano as a freshman who was walking in rain and freezing temperatures last November on the field two hours before Sierra Canyon’s playoff game against Santa Margarita going through his pregame routine listening to music from Nirvana and not letting any elements disrupt him.

“I’m not gonna let the weather determine my pregame,” he said. “And I’m actually used to the cold experience. My dad taught me to swim in cold water. That’s who I am.”

At 6 feet 2, 205 pounds, Zamorano is showing signs of becoming one of the best linebackers in the state for a 5-0 Sierra Canyon team that opens Mission League play on Friday against Loyola. He can be the player who’s in on every tackle up the middle or the player covering running backs out of the backfield. He watched his brother, Roman, now at Air Force, play for the Trailblazers last season at middle linebacker and has been taught by his father, Antonio, a former Garfield football player, to focus on toughness and fundamentals.

“It’s the mental toughness our dad taught both of us,” he said. “He played old-school football.”

Linebacker Eli Zamorano wearing his Mickey Mouse ears on Disney Day at Sierra Canyon.

(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)

His father became a doctor, his mother a lawyer. They’ve shown their boys a path to success but each must find their own way, though having a doctor in the family while playing football is pretty neat.

“When we were little, 7 or 8 years old, he would take us to see his patients at the hospital,” Zamorano said. “So we learned a lot there. It’s like we have free health care. He walks in our room and feels the [ankle]. He knows what the risks are.”

Zamorano can play the ukulele, listens to music created years ago and doesn’t pay attention to what others think.

“I would like to say I’m a very enthusiastic kid,” he said. “I still like to live life to its fullest. I’m not going to let any outside voices determine what makes me, me. I kind of don’t listen to the music that people do nowadays, and a lot of people call me out. It makes me Eli. And you know, it’s just who I am.”

When he was 15, he spent nearly three months living in Rapa Nui, one of the world’s most remote Polynesian islands. His grandmother was born there. It’s also known as Easter Island and is a special territory of Chile. There’s wilderness, beautiful beaches, amazing sunsets and time for a teenager to reflect on the future.

“I was down there training hard, learning more about my culture, where my family’s from,” he said. “I actually did dancing. It was a really fun experience.”

Whether walking in freezing rain without an umbrella or wearing Mickey Mouse ears around campus, Zamorano always knows what he’s doing.

“A couple girls said they were cute,” he said of his borrowed ears.

Who’s going to question Zamorano’s choices now?