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Bray Crowder caught
our attention this fall at a number of the elementary school
cross-country meets. Others still have noted his obvious athletic
talent as a member of the Jessie Hamilton Public School volleyball
contingent.
But make no mistake
about it – when it comes to his sporting career, his passion clearly
lies on the hockey rink. No great surprise there as the son of
former NHLer Troy Crowder and wife Jennifer, the eldest of three
boys in the family, recalls taking to the ice at the Lake Penage
boathouse somewhere around three to four years of age.
“I’m pretty good at
hockey and running and a few different things…but I like hockey a
lot more”, says the 10 year old Walden native with a smile. So then,
what exactly drew him to help lead the school’s cross-country
contingent?
“It started in Grade
3 – everyone said I was the fastest in the class, so I just started
running.” Seems logical enough. Yet as Crowder quickly found out,
competition can be challenging as one expands their horizons.
“I was 7th
in my very first race ever, but that was against Grade 4 and 5
students. Last year, I won three of the five races we had”, notes
the Grade 5 student. While Crowder displays a clear preference
towards Canada’s most popular winter sports, he does maintain a
clear mindset in approaching his ventures out to the trails of
Naughton and elsewhere.
“I like the longer
distances..I don’t really like to sprint. I just try and get out in
front of the group at the start of the race”, he explains. And he
acknowledges that the training involved between different athletic
ventures tends to provide support for each other. But in the end,
Crowder would love to follow in dad’s footsteps…sort of.
“He’s a big, big
fighter – I’m more of a goal scorer and a skater”, laughs the
talkative youngster. Despite the obvious notoriety involved, Bray
Crowder displays a well-grounded approach to the various sports he
undertakes. “I think it’s the same for all sports – my mom just
tells me to try my hardest at everything.”
Solid advice indeed. |
