Player Bio: Rhys Chism, C, Houston Bulls [2/2]

[Jables 73]

 

Childhood:

 

Rhys Chism was born in Providence, Rhode Island to a mother who works in school health, and a father who had his own business. Rhys was your typical kid, he was outside a lot with his younger brother, Ryan (keep an eye out, he may be in the league as well before long). They grew up with woods in their backyard where they would build treehouses, go fishing and swimming at the pond, or make jumps with the neighborhood kids for their dirt bikes. They would frequent the local park where all of the neighborhood kids would be playing football, baseball, basketball, soccer, street hockey, pretty much every sport you could think of that kids play. Rhys was always the best athlete in any of those pickup games, but had a natural ability with hockey moreso than the other sports even though he’d never played on a team, watched hockey or even been on the ice before. He had his good group of friends and enjoyed his early childhood immensely. Everything changed though when the Chism’s moved to a different neighborhood. Suddenly a lonely kid with no friends, Rhys was always picked last for teams. He didn’t have the same fun he did before he left his previous home. His friends were nowhere near him. One day though, everything was set in motion. While helping his dad clean the garage, Rhys found an old article from the local paper, “Rick Chism scores fourth hat trick in two week span”. Not knowing his dad played hockey, Rhys asked his father what the article was about, and was then informed of his dad’s hockey career. Rick Chism made it to the junior Olympics and was being touted as a high draft pick before blowing out his knee, and not being the same player after, ultimately deciding to call it quits. Rhys asked his father if he would teach him to skate and play hockey the way he did. Rick, knowing the disappointment he felt after his injury, decided to think about it. Eventually Rick obliged, he built an ice rink in their backyard, and the hockey career of Rhys Chism began. 

 

Middle/High school:

 

In middle school Rhys spent most of his time playing hockey and excelled right away, showing he had a shot just like his father. When he wasn’t playing hockey he would be at local arcades (because apparently those are still a thing) and just being a kid. There was no pressure from his parents. Rhys was doing well in the classroom and away from it. But by the time Rhys got to high school he wanted a break from hockey. Rhys got involved with the wrong kids and started skipping class, then school all together. With his grades slipping as well as losing his interest in playing hockey or any sports for that matter, he started becoming lost. Noticing their son was struggling, Rhys’ parents decided they needed to do something. Rick sat Rhys down and gave him an ultimatum, he could play hockey and be homeschooled or he could stay in school and keep throwing his life away, but with every failing grade would have to pay his parents to stay at the house. Rhys furious with this ultimatum decided to move out. He stayed with his cousin Brett thinking things would blow over. For three weeks, Rhys didn’t attend school and had no word from his parents. But one night his junior year he got a phone call, it was his younger brother, Ryan. Rick had been diagnosed with lymphoma (a cancer within the lymph nodes). Rhys went home to see his dad as soon as he hung up the phone. Upon seeing Rhys, Rick told him to come with him into the garage. They talked for a while about what Rhys wanted to do with his life, he didn’t really have an answer. Rick then told Rhys he had faith in him figuring it out, and knew he would be okay. Rick went inside while Rhys decided to hang back in the garage for a little while longer. While looking through boxes and pictures hanging up, reminiscing of times when he was younger, Rhys found a framed article about him playing hockey. With emotions running wild, Rhys realized why he began playing. He hurried inside and told his dad that he wanted to play hockey again, that he would do whatever it takes. Over the next few months he started training again, then joined his high school’s hockey team. With his newfound focus, Rhys ditched the people who were leading him down the wrong path, and began doing extremely well in the classroom again. He even got a girlfriend for the first time in his life. One teacher of his, Mark Su, spoke of Rhys and how he was as a student.

 

“When Rhys first came to my class he wanted nothing to do with school. He wasn’t necessarily a bad kid, but I think he didn’t feel challenged which resulted in him being bored, and acting out. He was wasting his potential. He never did his homework, but he always tested well. So I’d like to think with that he at least paid some attention in the classroom. When he came back after his dad was diagnosed with cancer, he was basically a new person. So focused, and calm, and just an enjoyable kid. He was a great student in what was pretty much his second chance.”

 

Having only a year and a half before he would start college, Rhys exploded onto the hockey scene once again, setting school records for almost every offensive category (they weren’t even close), and leading his high school to a second place finish and then ultimately a state championship his senior year. Being able to see his son play hockey again made Rick elated. Speaking on his son after beating his battle with cancer, Rick had this to say:

 

“I’m an extremely proud father. Seeing him out there on the ice absolutely free, and all of the bs that he got rid of to allow himself to get there again. As a parent I can’t express to you how proud I am. He’s a special kid.” 

 

Post High School and VHLM:

 

With not many college offers due to his grades during the troubled phase he went through, and him still wanting to play, Rhys decided he would try to go pro instead. After going undrafted, Rhys tried out for different scouts. Upon seeing his raw talent (albeit a bit green due to his time away) the expansion Houston Bulls of the VHLM decided to offer Rhys a contract which he gladly accepted. Everything happens for a reason, and with the incredible locker room the Houston Bulls have, you couldn’t have picked a better place for Chism to end up. With this kid’s focus, drive, and natural ability, it wouldn’t be a stretch to say he has an incredibly bright future ahead of him.

[TheFlash 317]

Review- Overall, not to bad. I liked how you put the moment with his father at the beginning. Cool to give it a spin with a bit of history and give your player something to play for. The length was nice, but would be better if you threw in two or three pictures to add a bit of colour a life to it. But well done.

[uphillmoss 134]

Review- Loved reading this. You managed to do what a lot of people fail at, which is making the reader care. I could feel the pain when I read about the dad having cancer. Loved how you spent most of the bio talking about his family life. However the one problem I see is the formatting. It is just a long string of text and starts bore your eyes, a few pictures would have helped.

[Gustav 6,469]

Review--Pretty good! In the future, it might help your case to copy and paste into Word and run spell check; you had a few typos in there. Also, your paragraphs were huge blocks of text...try breaking up what you're saying more. You're a good enough writer that, if you consciously hit the enter key where it might make sense, what you write will come off as a natural conversation rather than a lecture. However, certainly nothing I haven't been guilty of myself.

I like the quotes from the people who lived with your player. They add a certain "outside perspective" to the story. I honestly wish I'd thought of that as my bio is just my player talking about himself.

Loving how you factored Rick into the story--we've all been through those times where we "needed someone" more than anything and you expressed this perfectly.

[Gustav 6,469]

27 minutes ago, GustavMattias said:

Review--Pretty good! In the future, it might help your case to copy and paste into Word and run spell check; you had a few typos in there. Also, your paragraphs were huge blocks of text...try breaking up what you're saying more. You're a good enough writer that, if you consciously hit the enter key where it might make sense, what you write will come off as a natural conversation rather than a lecture. However, certainly nothing I haven't been guilty of myself.

I like the quotes from the people who lived with your player. They add a certain "outside perspective" to the story. I honestly wish I'd thought of that as my bio is just my player talking about himself.

Loving how you factored Rick into the story--we've all been through those times where we "needed someone" more than anything and you expressed this perfectly.

3rd review, I know. Many apologies.