“The Hay Is In The Barn” - The Cassidy Curtis Story
Yesterday was pretty cool…
One of my long lime clients, Cassidy Curtis, got married to one of the coolest humans on the planet.
As a coach, it’s pretty awesome to watch someone you’ve trained go from a skinny high school kid who tried to freestyle rap during water breaks and grow into a well-rounded positive member of society.
Now, here’s the crazy part…
Cassidy leaves for training camp in the CFL this morning. His flight is at 7AM and the work he has done to reach this point is absolutely something to marvel.
As a senior at Cherry Creek, Cassidy was a 6’7 240lb skinny kid who didn’t have a ton of offers. He accepted a scholarship from the biggest school that offered him, Eastern Washington University.
In his time at Eastern Washington he transformed into a 6’7 310lb man-child with NFL size and athleticism. But, in the first game of his senior season while he was putting together a phenomenal game against Oregon and future first round pick De’Forest Bukner he broke his foot.
This put him out for the majority of that season and caused every NFL team to pass on him during the 2015 NFL Draft.
He spent the next year out of football…
A full calendar year later as he was still training and still fighting for his shot to play professional football.
That’s when the phone rang. It was the Spokane Empire. An arena team that would pay him a little less than a greater at Wal-Mart. Of course, he jumped on the opportunity to play again. But, as fate would have it, later that week a connection put him in contact with a Canadian Football Team who offered him a training camp invite.
Unfortunately, he was cut during training camp and was once again out of football…
So, he returned home. It was now almost 2 years since he had played in a meaningful football game and his prospects of playing professionally were shrinking rapidly by the day.
But, Cassidy is a fighter, he always has been. One of his best qualities is his willingness to walk a path that others won’t. It’s not in his DNA to give up. So, he kept pushing. He trained with my high school group where he was a role model for my young kids and his work ethic set the tone for everyone else.
He was not going to go down without a fight…
Sure enough, one day after running hill sprints on a Saturday he got in his car and had a missed call. It was from the Director of Player Personnel for the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League and they were offering him a contract.
I remember vividly when Cassidy called me to let me know…
Honestly, I thought of sending it to voice-mail because he can be a bit long winded and I had just gotten home. But, I picked up and on the other end was a 6’7 300lb man fighting to hold back tears as he let me know he had another shot.
So, as I write this it’s 5:47AM on Monday May 21st, almost 3 years since Cassidy wrapped up college and he is about to board a flight to chase his dreams.
He got married last night and has the opportunity of a lifetime ahead of him…
I’m proud of the work he has put in to get to this point, but, what makes me more proud is the man he has become. This process will reveal a lot about someone and Cassidy has shown time and time again that given any challenge he will rise above and be successful.
As a farmer says on the last day of harvest – ‘The hay is in the barn’.
Everything in life is earned. Nothing is given. The work has been done and Cassidy has earned this opportunity. Today, I am a proud coach a excited to watch this young man chase his dream.
