Love On the Brain (Corey Crawford)

48| Anything's Possible

Jessica

Even as a kid people always asked me about what I thought. I guess I always has this knack for finding answers even if I didn't originally know. I saw something in people and they wanted to see it too, it meant a lot to me that I can help them find whatever it was they were looking for.

So it makes sense how working with athletes works, at least to me it does. Maybe to other people, even the athletes sometimes, it doesn't make as much sense. So I got asked to do a interview with the Chicago tribune I'm working with some of the most predominant minds in Chicago sports and why it works.

So I meet a man named Scott in a cute little cafe downtown. He buys me a drink and we get started with conversations as he just records to listen to the interview again later on.

"Start off by telling me how you and Corey started. Why you and why him" he asks.

"I had never worked with a athlete before, not in high school or college level let alone professional. But the Blackhawks reaches out to me asking for a life coach. Of course it doesn't make sense at first, how a professional hockey player wouldn't know about their own life. Especially someone like Corey who was so successful and seemed, at least on the outside, like a confident guy who wouldn't need help figuring his life out. But the Blackhawks felt like they needed something new that could possibly reach him after he buried himself s deep in his life he couldn't find a way out.

So they did their research and they found me. I had worked with some pretty big names in my young career. But none of those names are athletes, for they are different than most people. They have very special capabilities and sometimes that becomes a burden. I learned that very quickly. But luckily for me Corey was a incredible guy and it didn't take him too long to realize that he wanted and needed to be better" I explain.

"Without going across any lines can you tell us why he got help and it wasn't until you that anything helped" he says.

"Each person is different. Some people want help, some people like the hurt. It makes them feel human. In Corey's case he just didn't see that everything he ever needed was inside of him, he was just too scared to know these things. To know if something is actually wrong with him or if this was self inflicted. But until we see what there and not what we or others want to be there we can't grow. You can't build a house with a bunch of things that aren't there. You gotta use what you have and hope it's strong enough to build a strong frame. Corey has the stuff but he was scared to see what he can build, scared to see it one day fall to the ground. But with the life training he was able do find himself and build himself up" I explain.

"Of course it helps that he was absolutely in love with you" the man says and I smile.

"It does help. Therapy only works when you have a good relationship between patient and therapist. Luckily for us it was a relationship stronger than either of us knew at the point" I say.

"You were supposed to leave at one point but you didn't, Why not" he questions.

"Because life coaching is important to me but my life here is more important. There's plenty of people who want me to help them and I can't help them all. Not at the same time at least. So I'm going to have to say no so I can say yes to other things. Now I work with Jonathan and some other people in the Chicago area and I still get to do what I'm mean to" I smile.

"Is it hard working with athletes" he asks and I laugh. You have to laugh.

"I'm not gonna sugar coat it, yes. Athletes don't like change, which is half the problems they have in the first place. But whether it be the way they eat or how they think they don't like to change. So asking someone who has been doing something the same way since they were a child to change is gonna be hard.

But the great thing about working with athletes is that whatever they put their mind to... they're gonna be the best at it. So once they realize that change is necessary in order for things to change then nothing is going to stop them from doing so" I insist.

"Are you going to move to sports psychologist or stick with life coach" he wonders.

"I'm no sports psychologist. I don't know how to make someone's play better or what to do if someone's game is off. All I know is that once they leave that ice or field or wherever they have to come back down to reality where life doesn't make exceptions for you because of your athletic abilities. We all get 24 hours in a day and if 4 of it is spent on hockey then there's 20 hours where you are just like everyone else. I feel like being a athlete is more of a reason to make your life better because it's going to be harder to do so. But it's possible. Anything's possible" I claim. 

"Sounds like there's a lot of really lucky people who get to learn from you" he says and I blush.

"Thank you. But I just believe the world is a better place when the people around you is in a better place. We all have to possibility to make a difference in someone's life, athlete of not. We just got to have the courage to use the wood we have and build something worth while."