Growing up in Canada, hockey was always king. You may love baseball, soccer or football, but you always knew that was going to take a back seat to the true national pastime.
Knowing that, it won't surprise you that Will picked up a hockey stick years before he wore a football helmet. Like most professional athletes, most sports come to him easily, and he was a natural on skates. If you've ever watched little league hockey, you'd know there's always one kid that stands out as head and shoulders above the rest. He scores all the goals, he skates circles around his peers. That was Will.
High school came around and Will tried football on for size and it turned out he was damn good at that, too. He appreciated the coordination and structure of a well executed football play.
The turning point was when evaluations began for junior hockey Will knew that there was a real chance he'd be sent far from home. That sucked. There was also a real chance he'd go there and never make it past the juniors. That would be worse.
Football, on the other hand, had a natural course through high school and then university. He wouldn't have to leave home until he was an adult. He'd get a degree. That was a good deal, by his standards.
Knowing that, it won't surprise you that Will picked up a hockey stick years before he wore a football helmet. Like most professional athletes, most sports come to him easily, and he was a natural on skates. If you've ever watched little league hockey, you'd know there's always one kid that stands out as head and shoulders above the rest. He scores all the goals, he skates circles around his peers. That was Will.
High school came around and Will tried football on for size and it turned out he was damn good at that, too. He appreciated the coordination and structure of a well executed football play.
The turning point was when evaluations began for junior hockey Will knew that there was a real chance he'd be sent far from home. That sucked. There was also a real chance he'd go there and never make it past the juniors. That would be worse.
Football, on the other hand, had a natural course through high school and then university. He wouldn't have to leave home until he was an adult. He'd get a degree. That was a good deal, by his standards.