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 7^th 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.