Pugh and his Hockey Origins - nice article

[BleedinBlue]

From the Star Ledger

 

Justin Pugh grew into football out of hockey

 

Justin Pugh once dreamed of kick saves and hat tricks. Street hockey was his sport of choice while growing up in the Philadelphia suburb of Holland, Pa. Later, he graduated to playing the real thing, climbing out of bed at the crack of dawn to get ice time at the local rink.

 

His older brothers, Shaun and Michael, steered him to the sport. Shaun played for Kutztown University. His stepfather was a former high school hockey coach. His sister, Jenna, knew her way around the rink as well.

 

"He thought he was going to be the second coming of Wayne Gretzky," quipped Frank Gavaghan, his stepdad.

 

But something happened to Pugh on his way to the NHL: He grew and grew and grew. He needed new equipment before his old equipment actually got old. The sport was costing his family a small fortune.

 

"I grew out of my brother's stuff when I was in seventh grade," Pugh said, laughing. "Eventually, my parents were like, You're either going to play hockey or play football". Football was the cheaper alternative.

 

"I always played backyard football. So I went out for the middle school team and the rest, I guess, is history."

 

The 6-4, 301-pound Pugh began writing the next chapter to his life story Thursday night when the Giants selected the Syracuse product with the 19th pick overall in the 2013 NFL draft.

 

The wild celebration at his home with family and friends was caught on video, posted on YouTube and has gone viral. It captures Pugh excitedly repeating: "yes sir, yes sir" as he spoke to Giants coach Tom Coughlin, and then everybody piling on him after the call ended.

 

"I'm so happy I was home with my family and friends and not in New York City," Pugh said. "Obviously, being there is a great honor for those guys but I wouldn't want to be anywhere else than with family and friends, people that I started with and always had my back."

 

BUILDING A BOND

 

Perhaps no one has had Pugh's best interests at heart more than his stepfather. Pugh's parents divorced when he was in kindergarten and his mother, Carolyn, remarried a few years later. Pugh was rambunctious and spoiled to the core by his mother and sister when Frank Gavaghan came into his life.

 

Gavaghan was a law-and-order guy. He put an end to Pugh's temper tantrums. He had all his kids enter into "contracts" with him regarding their household chores. For example, an "A" grade in school would earn popcorn and a movie on the weekend. Cutting the grass netted your allowance. It was all in writing.

 

"Justin even starting writing up his own contracts," Gavaghan recalled with a chuckle.

 

It was the discipline and tough love Pugh needed. The pair slowly built an unbreakable bond and ultimately a close-knit blended family.

 

"It took a little while," Carolyn Gavaghan admitted. "Frank was tough. Justin was used to getting his own way with me and his sister. He needed a male influence."

 

Frank Gavaghan was also divorced and had two sons. They knew the drill and helped get Justin in line.

 

"My father was very strict," said Shaun Gavaghan, who is very close to Justin. "He had a certain way of doing things and it got done that way, period. There was no democracy. I think it worked for Justin."

 

When Pugh was 13, his biological father died of a heart attack. Pugh was devastated. Frank Gavaghan was his rock.

 

"My stepdad helped me through it. He has been there for me," said Pugh, adding Frank Gavaghan attended all of his college games, home and away, except one. "He has been the voice that has helped me make some of the toughest decisions in my life over the past few years. He was one of the ones who raised me and made me the man I am today."

 

FROM THE ICE TO THE GRIDIRON

 

Pugh showed up at Council Rock High School-South as a raw 6-2, 200-pounder. He left as a 6-4, 260-pound man-child.

 

"His athleticism was very, very good," said Vince Bedesem, Pugh's high school coach. "He was very agile. He had good feet."

 

Hockey, Pugh said, was his athletic foundation, one that allowed him to seamlessly grow into his rapidly developing body.

 

"In hockey, you have to be able to stop and start on both feet," he said. "A lot of guys played basketball. I played hockey. When you're kick-stepping (setting up in a pass-blocking stance) or you have to slide around, it's like you're on skates."

 

Bedesem purposely kept Pugh off the varsity as a freshman. Pugh started his final three seasons in high school but Syracuse was the only major Division I school (Boston College make a late surge) to offer him a scholarship.

 

Ironically, as a senior, Pugh made All-State on defense (defensive end), not offense. He played guard in a triple-option scheme.

 

Unbeknownst to college recruiters, behind Pugh’s mild-mannered exterior was a raging competitive inferno. It fueled his separation from the pack.

 

"He has a mean streak and I think that's why he has evolved into who he is as a player," Bedesem said. "On the field, he seeks people out from bell to bell. He loves to be involved in the action."

 

At Syracuse, Pugh was a quick study. After redshirting his first year on campus, he earned second-team All-Big East honors and then two consecutive first-team All-Big East selections.

 

"At first, I didn't know how good I was," said Pugh, who fulfilled a promise to his mom to get his degree in finance before declaring early for the draft. "I just went out there and played.

 

"Then, in my second year, I went against three first-round picks. I played against (defensive ends) Bruce Irvin (Seattle) and Nick Perry (Green Bay). Then, I went against Chandler Jones (New England) everyday in practice.

 

"He and I made a pact that we would both be first-round picks. We would call each other FRB (first-round boys). Thursday night, I finally held up my end of the bargain."

[Bigblue25]

Think we wanted Jones, last year. This a good story.