I didn't really have much of a choice.
When the kids were watching cartoons, he was watching Hockey replays.
When a friend bought him a Tonka truck when he was 4 , he looked at it with a puzzled look on his face. We encouraged him to "play" by pushing it around etc, but he showed no interest, and refused to even pretend that it was fun. We also tried video games, his interest was short lived.
We could find nothing that captivated him . BUT, give that little boy A rock & river and he was set for hours & hours. Anything that involved throwing and catching , he would never quit. He was 4 when I put him on the ice , I had never seen a kid fall so much . And I had never seen him so happy . Honestly within 6 ice times , that little boy found his wings , and he never looked back .
Hockey came early for him . I cant remember his age exactly , but he was just little when he was waking me at 5AM " MOM WE ARE GOING TO BE LATE" And I was screaming , " CURTIS THE PRACTICE IS AT 10, RELAX "
Somewhere in between then and now , the years flew by and there were tons of wins and losses .
The roller coaster of everything that is Hockey when you are the Mother of a Goalie.
I have seen him let the winning goal fly by him , watch his head drop in disappointment .
Its been torture. And I have seen him save it & become the Hero , Its been overwhelming joy & pride.
Curtis is in his last year of High School , & that means the last year for a lot of Hockey.
He came to me in July and said " Mom , please , I need to play AAA , that's all I want "
I can't argue with him, I never could.
I knew the odds were against him, he's in his last year. So, I started a mission .
The mission was to do what ever it took to get him where he needed to be mentally.
We have worked on a lot of things together in the past 4 months. One of the most important choices I made was to hire a personal trainer for him .
For this job, I choose Darrin Gray . There is nobody else I would trust with my son.
The idea wasn't to turn Curtis into A body builder. The idea was to teach him discipline , self respect. Learn about his body, understand that a healthy body is a healthy mind.
I pleasantly surprised today when I spent an hour at the gym with the 2 of them .
They seem to have this mutual respect going on , the kind that's very chill yet serious.
Darrin gives Curtis the space and respect that ultimately encourages and allows Curtis to excel, always pushing forward . It was such a beautiful thing to experience. And of course , Curtis saying " Mom, watch this ... what ever I lift he will double it & the reps " And yes, beast that he is , did not disappoint. Darrin Gray , thank you for this , Thank you for your time , patience , your professional & personal approach. Thank you for making yourself available to support my son both in and out of the gym. Its an incredible testament to who you are in the world .
Reasons Or Results - That is all . xx
