Link to Post-Dispatch Article
ST. LOUIS - Blues winger Jamal Mayers never has been ? nor will be ? a candidate for the Art Ross Trophy, awarded to the league's leading scorer. Nor has he appeared at the top of the Blues' season scoring charts.
But he has learned that little things add up and that sacrifice pays off.
He'll stand up for a teammate. He'll race to do the dirty work in the corners. And he'll line up against the opponents' top line night after night. Mayers' intangible contributions, combined with his innate speed, have led to a decade of service with the Blues, more than anyone on the roster.
When a half-dozen teams expressed interest in Mayers near the trade deadline, the Blues acknowledged, as President John Davidson said, "we would need more than one person to replace him" and signed Mayers to a three-year extension worth $4 million.
The value Mayers places on the little things extends beyond the rink and has earned him a place of honor at the National Sportsmanship Awards on Thursday at the Chase Park Plaza Hotel. The dinner is hosted by the St. Louis Sports Commission and the Citizenship Through Sports Alliance, whose members include the NCAA, NHL, Major League Baseball, NAIA, NJCAA and the National Federation of State High School Associations. Each group nominates a player, coach or team that exemplifies sportsmanship, citizenship, ethical conduct and community service.
"There's a lot of pressure on kids to be the best, a straight-A student or the best athlete," Mayers said. "We thought what got lost along the way was that not everyone can grow up to be a pro athlete or a doctor, but everyone can be a nice person."
Thus, Mayers and teammate Bryce Salvador started Jam 'n' Sal's Community Stars in 2002. About 50 students a year in grades 1 through 8 have been rewarded for random acts of kindness, receiving tickets to a Blues game and invitations to a postgame reception with the players.
"It can be as simple as a guy sticking up for a classmate who's being picked on, or a girl cutting her hair for Locks of Love," Mayers said, referring to the organization that donates human-hair wigs to chemotherapy patients. "The hope is that they continue doing good deeds."
Mayers and Salvador also sponsor one player each summer in the Impact Hockey Training Project, a 12-week program of workouts, skills training and nutrition counseling at The Hockey Academy of St. Louis, which Mayers co-founded during the lockout of 2004-05. The winner also works out with Mayers, Salvador and other present and past NHLers.
This year's award didn't go to the kid with the highest GPA or the best chance to be drafted, but to Tyler Polizzi, a junior forward at CBC who sat out the second half of last season after deciding to have shoulder surgery. He missed what could have been his only chance to play in a state title game because, as coach John Jost said, "he didn't want to hurt his team by playing hurt."
Polizzi described his decision in an essay, which Mayers said "showed how tough he was. You got a sense of his work ethic and maturity."
Mayers also could be describing himself and his journey to the NHL. He grew up in Toronto, where his mom, Doreen, worked two or three jobs so Mayers could play hockey. His brother, Allen, 6 years older, "took care of me," Mayers said, giving up his own hockey career. Tickets to the Gardens to see their beloved Maple Leafs "were out of the question," Mayers said. "Too expensive."
No wonder Mayers gives away tickets to those who, like his mother and brother, quietly do good deeds for others.
Family also lies at the heart of Mayers' next project.
"Anytime you feel fortunate, the immediate response is that you need to give back," he said.
Mayers' 20-month-old daughter, Langley, recently had surgery to remove a hemangioma, a benign tumor made up of blood vessels. One in 10 children is born with the tumors, most of which go away, or involute, on their own after one to three years. Some, though, can cause breathing or vision problems, and others don't involute. All can cause psychological scars.
"Kids know when other kids are looking at them like they're different. They don't need to be teased," said Mayers' wife, Natalie, a former nurse. "Removing it at a young age, kids have no anxiety about surgery and no memory of even having it."
The Mayers are brainstorming ways to further the cause with radio personality Dave Glover and his wife, Maureen, whose daughter also undergoes treatment for hemangioma. They have considered starting a website or message board to raise awareness, or organizing a fund-raiser to help families pay for laser treatments, which cost $200 each.
"Not everyone can afford it, and every one of these kids deserve the treatment," Natalie said.
Given Mayers' track record, bet that the idea will be a quiet winner.
"I think anyone who does anything philanthropic does it for selfish reasons," he said. "You almost get addicted to seeing the smiles when you give away something. It costs you so little, and it means so much to them."
Story written by Kathleen Nelson and pubished in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (June 20, 2007)
