MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) – 13 years ago, Curtis Maye was given a second chance at life and what he’s done with it is pretty remarkable. Maye is the Director of Football Operations and Recruiting Coordinator at Vigor High school, his alma mater, pouring back into his community one student athlete at a time.
Curtis Maye doesn’t like to be in the spotlight. He’ll tell you he’s a “behind the scenes guy”.
He’s a liaison between players, parents, and college coaches. Maye is always fielding phone calls, monitoring each player’s social media, and making sure each one has the tape they need and gets it into the right hands.
That is a big reason Vigor just had the largest signing class in program history with 18 student athletes headed to play at the next level.
Senior defensive back Kevin Malone is taking his talents to Louisiana Lafayette this fall, and he says he couldn’t have done it without coach Maye.
“He’s been in my life, not just as a coach, as a parent, like as my dad, he took good care of me, made sure I stayed on top of my grades, got good work on and off the field. He made sure I did everything I had to do.”
Sophomore linebacker Jabarrius Garror is already committed to the University of Alabama. He’s a local talent that has been highlight sought after by college programs. Garror tells me, his bond with coach Maye is deeper that football.
“Coach Maye plays a huge role in this process, and really, without Coach Maye, none of this would ever happen for me, and I’m truly thankful for Coach Maye. You know, he treats us like his kids. He treats us like family to him. We’re important to coach Maye. Coach Maye keeps me levelheaded on this process. He keeps everything straight for me, because sometimes it can take a toll on me. He’s a good mentor in my ear, keeping me close with these coaches. I could say, Coach Maye, he’s like the lead over this whole thing for me.”
Before coming back to Prichard, Maye actually spent his time on the sidelines with various coaching stops across the country including Trinity University in Deerfield, IL, and Avila University in Kansas City. In 2012, he was the defensive backs coach and recruiting coordinator at Point University in Atlanta. That is when his life changed forever.
On Memorial Day weekend, he collapsed at practice and was rushed to the E.R., where doctors discovered Maye had a tumor on his brain stem. He was given a 10 percent chance to live. Maye underwent an eight-hour surgery to remove the tumor, followed by chemotherapy and radiation. He had to relearn how to walk and how to talk. It’s a journey that led him back to Prichard to be closer to his family and ultimately, back to Vigor. Maye knows, he’s right where he’s supposed to be.
“Basically, it almost killed me, and so from that moment on, I just made it a point to myself, you know, God gave me another chance at life. So basically, my role is to kind of help guide these kids, where they can have the opportunity. I actually love doing this, because I look at what was done for me. Why not be able to give back to these kids?”
Since Maye has been with the program, 53 of his players have signed to play college football. Vigor principal Tiffany Buchanan tells me that Maye has made an impact, not just throughout these student’s four years in high school, or the four they’ll spend in college. He’s impacted them for the next 40.
“He’s a part of that process to ensure that they’re successful, that they’re put in the best possible position. To have a guy like Curtis Maye on staff who assists with that, in that capacity, is immense. Vigor is blessed to have a Curtis Maye.”
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