Despite the challenges they’ve encountered, CJ Stroud and his mother have always found strength in their tight-knit family unit. Sharing their story with KHOU 11 in a recent interview, CJ’s mother reflected on their journey from Rancho Cucamonga, a suburb outside California, where they battled homelessness, to be where they are today.
Advertisement
The depth of CJ Stroud’s humility and sincerity is rooted in the adversity he’s endured, particularly his father’s 38-year-long prison sentence. Kim Stroud, his mother, worked tirelessly to support CJ and his sister Ciara after his older brothers left.
“It was a really hard struggle for our family a pretty well-off income to basically nothing.” Kim Stroud said. CJ Stroud’s mother worked as a property manager, and at one property under her management, the owner arranged for housing behind it, where the property manager could reside.
“CJ was raised there and I’m so grateful for that because they take a few dollars from your pay every hour but the utilities are free and the rent is free. So, I was really able to keep us away from homelessness and you know, provide.”
Witnessing his mother’s sacrifices, CJ took on the mantle of the male head of the household, a responsibility that eventually nurtured his leadership qualities, evident today as he shines as the star quarterback for the Houston Texans, according to his mother.
Balancing the responsibilities of both mom and manager, Kim navigated this dual role, finding solace in the fact that it prevented her family from facing “homelessness”.
Coach Jim Harbaugh and Ryan Day Visited CJ Stroud At Their Apartment Behind The Storage Unit
Amidst these adversities, CJ Stroud balanced the demands of the football world, including camps and recruitment visits. During one such visit, high-end coaches like Coach Ryan Day and Coach Jim Harbaugh came to the apartment behind the storage unit to meet CJ.
CJ Stroud’s mother, couldn’t help but ponder how the coaches felt in such an unconventional setting. She even joked if it was the “weirdest” place they’d recruited an athlete, potentially finding comfort in their response that they’d encountered stranger locales.
It must have reinforced her confidence in managing her family’s situation adeptly. For a mother who’s sacrificed so much to nurture her son’s dreams, the acknowledgment of his talent by esteemed coaches without any expectations is profoundly moving.
With CJ Stroud’s ascent to becoming one of the league’s top quarterbacks, their unwavering faith in God has been validated. Despite the challenges stemming from CJ’s father’s circumstances, the Stroud family maintained their conviction that better days lay ahead.
