Julius Freemans' Journey to the VHLM [2/2]

[rjfryman 1,120]

Julius Freeman's hockey story began at a similar age as many of all time greats. Julius fell in love with hockey when he was only four years old. It was February and the winter Olympics were on the tv everywhere he looked. His mother was in love with watching figure skating every chance she could. In response, Julius was bored and often upset that he could not change the channel to something he would rather watch. His mother appeased him by assuring him that after figure skating he could choose any tv he wanted to watch and she would not change the channel. Julius who at the time was resentful of his mother chooses to pick something that he thought she would hate to watch. Little did he know that by selecting something out of spite it would create a love for him that he would never give up because of the show that he would pick that he knew his mother did not like was watching ice hockey.

 

What started out as something to make his mother upset because it was so stark in contrast to her favorite Olympic event was just the right combination of athletics, teamwork, and beauty. Julius saw the movement of the players and after watching figure skating for days he saw how difficult it was for the hockey players to do everything they were doing. He saw great teams like Sweeden, Canada, Finland, and of course his national team the USA. That year Sweeden won and he found his favorite player Peter Forsberg. Julius begged his mother to take him ice skating but his disappointment his mother said it would not be possible due to where they lived. See at this moment in time Julius and his family lived in the Pacific ocean on an island where his father was stationed in the military. 

 

Surrounded by plenty of water with ice nowhere to be found, Julius was distraught at the fact that his ability to play hockey was thwarted by his family and their location. Julius begged and begged to his mother every day to be able to play hockey and eventually, she realized that this would not subside so she did the only thing she could think of getting him every hockey game she could get her hands on. This, of course, meant special ordering games from the stores to get the hockey games that would satiate his desires. 

 

During this time Julius would go and play every sport that he could get his hands on and try to master them to his fullest. This included being his schools' quarterback and being a great guard for his basketball team. Even though his heart yearned for hockey maybe mastering other sports might fill the void that hockey so desperately made. Julius watched his film and corrected his mistakes to the very best of his ability. He grew his skill to the point where as an eighth grader he could play with the varsity high school team. Julius was content with where his life was going until his father received new orders to move again. Julius was heartbroken to be leaving his friends and a team that he thought could eventually make him happy with sports. But upon arriving at his new home one thing that he could never expect changed the course of his life almost immediately. 

 

Julius upon moving to his new home was so distraught he didn't even try out for his new schools' football or basketball team. In fact, outside of school Julius simply stayed in his room wallowing in his own self-pity. The only thing that would get him out of his room was when his family hosted board game night with the next door neighbors, and that was only because of the neighbors' daughter Amber. Amber was a quiet but cute girl who loved two things; boardgames and figure skating. Julius was super shy around her and after 4 board game nights he finally got up the courage to ask her on a date, since he was still new to the area he suggested that she pick the activity, and what fate would have it she picked ice skating.

 

Please, everyone reading this understand Julius at this point still loves the idea of hockey but is so far removed from actually pursuing this dream that he even forgot that he loved hockey to such a degree where he would get upset if he wasn't allowed to watch the games on tv.

 

What started as a cute date began to blossom into something more. Julius, after being dragged around the ice with Amber helping him as best as she could, wiped out to such a degree where he had to crawl off the ice. However, after being looked over by the arena staff and Amber, Julius had to get back on the ice. He was timider but with Amber's hand in his, he would skate until open skate was over. At which point if you believe in destiny you know what happens next. The local Pro team took to the ice to practice. Julius was so enthralled with the team practicing that it took Amber squeezing his hand for him to realize he was still on the date. That, however, was an interesting moment for the two young kids where Amber saw something that Julius really loved and she let them sit there and watch the team practice and forget their dinner reservation. At dinner, so many things kept coming to Julius mind and he shared as much as he could remember with Amber and she just smiled and listened. After listening for a good hour Amber simply asked one question that would rock Julius to his core.

 

Do you still want to learn to play hockey?

 

Julius did not know how to respond on one hand this was his oldest dream and something he grew up wanting to do. On the other, he knew if he just went back to football or basketball he could probably get a scholarship to any college he wanted to go to. There was a long pause for about 5 minutes until the waiter asked if Julius would like the check. Julius responded emphatically 'Yes I want to learn to play hockey.' completely ignoring the waiters' question and asked Amber what do I need to do to learn.

 

Amber and Julius then made plans to go skating every day that week. After the second session, Amber started to record Julius and give him pointers on what he needed to do to improve. Julius who was used to analyzing his film would quickly modify his skating to improve. Amber was amazed by his growth. After two weeks of skating Julius was good enough to start with a rec league playing hockey. Again Amber would record his games and give him feedback and Julius would quickly grow. The arena staff knew and started to take interest in Julius when after two months of playing rec league became the best player in the entire league. They invited him to play in pickup games where the skill could be anywhere from people who learned a few years ago to former college players to trainers who work for the local Pro team. This is where our story comes to a close since Julius was approached by Anthony Rogers the GM of the Halifax 21st and was given a contract for the year to see if he could cut it at a semi-professional level.

Edited February 24, 2019 by rjfryman
Formatting for easier reading

[johnnyhockey42 13]

I think it's great that you added some romance to the mix of Julius' road to the VHL.  The fact that he learned hockey from his love interest just goes to show how much emotion he has invested in the sport of hockey!  It seemed like a long time coming for him to eventually learn the sport so it was good to see the dream finally come true for him.  I especially liked mentioning his unpredictable home life with his family constantly moving for work, that must have been tough but that will help with the tolls of travel as a hockey player.  Amber seems like a great girl and an even better coach, I love that relationship between her and Julius!

[RunnerBert11 57]

Review - Great bio my man! I really like how the love and desire to learn/play hockey started from the get go at such a young age and it was a feeling and desire this player couldn't shake even after so much success in other sports. I myself can relate to this since I grew up playing every other sport under the sun aside from hockey and ahve never had the chance or opportunity to really learn to skate well and play the game. I also like how you tied in a relationship and emotional component to the story and really showed just how strong Julius' passion for the game is. I also like how Julius and Amber are almost like player/coach or teammates and have this strong bond with one another. I think it could open the door for some great background articles down the road.

[DollarAndADream 3,356]

@rjfryman

It would look a lot more official if you added a couple of pictures, and maybe a heading at the top of who the player is, etc. Looking at it quickly, it just looks like a big wall of text.

Solid write-up, however. Good luck in the VHL!

[rjfryman 1,120]

1 minute ago, DollarAndADream said:

@rjfryman

It would look a lot more official if you added a couple of pictures, and maybe a heading at the top of who the player is, etc. Looking at it quickly, it just looks like a big wall of text.

Solid write-up, however. Good luck in the VHL!

Thanks, It's something I'm still working on since I feel like so many pictures are not 100% accurate or applicable. Ill try and work on it though.