Curet breaks through at Chapman

This is a not a story of a Costa Mesa kid who went on to produce video-game statistics as a wide receiver in college.

This isn’t even a story that mirrors that lovable underdog Rudy Ruettiger at Notre Dame.

This is about Trace Curet. His story is about NCAA Division III football. It’s about a Costa Mesa High alum who went to a university in Orange and found himself.

It’s an incomplete story and Curet is eager to make it a happy ending.

Sometimes sports aren’t all about the spotlight or the highlights. Sometimes the game teaches you lessons that last a lifetime and build you into a man. Such is the case for Curet.

Whatever may happen in his final season at Chapman University, Curet can find peace and pride that he has discovered who he is. He has found strength. He gained that from battling adversity the past three years. He never backed down.

“Recently I became a part of the 1,000-pound club,” Curet said of lifting weight totaling over 1,000 pounds for bench, squad and clean lifts. “It was really satisfying. I haven’t gotten the playing time, but I put enough work to where now the coaches are giving me the opportunity. I just have to prove that I am ready for it. I’m excited to see what lies ahead. I’m excited to play.”

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PLAYING TIME

The past three Chapman football seasons for Curet haven’t seemed to wear him down or cause him to quit because he has experienced minimal playing time.

His role the past three seasons has essentially been to provide depth. But Curet was determined to take it further, doing his best to provide energetic support and challenge others on the practice field and in the weight room.

“It actually wore on me more than it did him,” Curet’s mother, Laurel, said of her son’s lack of playing time. “I would sit up in the stands and I was concerned that he wasn’t playing. But I Iooked at him and he was always smiling and always cheering on everybody. It always amazed me. I thought at first it was an act, but he really enjoyed it.”

Trace Curet never quit. He now stands on the verge of breaking through and becoming a key contributor on a team wanting to build off a banner season from last year.

He was in the background last year when the Panthers had their best season, 8-2, completing an undefeated run in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, 7-0, and making their first playoff appearance.

Trace Curet saw Chapman end its season at Linfield in McMinnville, Ore., where the Wildcats won the playoff game, 55-24. The Panthers return to Linfield to open the season on Saturday.

Chapman is turning the page at quarterback, as its leader and 2014 SCIAC Player of the Year Michael Lahey graduated. The wide receivers — Trace Curet is one of five seniors in the group — will do their best to help new quarterback Andrew Chavez become a star.

There are 16 wide receivers on Chapman’s football team, the position’s coach Augustino Adams said. Adams is in his second year with the Panthers. He’s seen Trace Curet improve this offseason and usually uses him as an example for younger receivers for how to work hard and weather storms like lack of playing time.

Because of Trace Curet’s long hair and chiseled body made from hours in the weight room, Adams likes to call the 6-foot, 190-pound receiver, “Tarzan.”

Perhaps the nickname can also be for Trace Curet’s uncanny ability to adapt.

“Trace is a utility guy,” Adams said. “He doesn’t have the wiggle. But he’s a great possession receiver. Trace couldn’t break through the lineup last year. But his dedication and hard work is what has allowed him to come through in the program. He worked hard in the offseason. He’s in the weight room all the time. He’s always looking to add something to his game. He knows, ‘I can make plays the way I can. I need to get that first down.’ He understands his role and that’s what makes him a valuable commodity.”

The wide receivers are required to learn all three spots in Chapman’s offense, Adams says. Trace Curet has done a great job learning all three wide receiver spots, another reason he has an opportunity to become a starter.

Simply put, he has come a long way since entering Chapman as a freshman. Back then he roomed with fellow then-freshman receiver Sean Myers, a former Fountain Valley High standout. Since then the two took different paths and created different stories as part of the Chapman football team.

Myers has thrived, rising above his undersized status as a 5-9, 170-pound receiver. He’s locked in as a starter and is a team captain.

“Whether he realizes it or not I’ve learned from him,” Trace Curet says of Myers. “He’s undersized and he really knows how to use his feet. I’ve seen him make people fall down. It’s nice to be learning from someone smaller do it. And, I think if he’s shorter than me then I can probably do it. I can do it at full speed better. It’s nice to have that competition.”

Myers and Trace Curet have helped each other in their separate roles.

“He’s a great competitor,” Myers said of Trace Curet. “One of the things I love about him is that he wants the best for this team. The way he tries to put himself in a winning position is second to no one. And this year all the hard work has been paying off. I’m excited to see what the offense will be with him.”

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BLENDED FAMILY

Trace Curet isn’t too proud to be a little jealous of his younger brother, Cameron Curet, who has been a versatile star for the Costa Mesa High Mustangs last year and this season so far.

When Trace Curet was at Mesa, he was well-respected as a solid athlete, a hard worker who gained plenty of playing time for the football and baseball teams. He also competed in basketball up until his junior year. In 2012, he was one of four to receive the inaugural Distinguished Athlete Award from Costa Mesa United, the group that has helped fund several local athletic facility projects.

Balancing sports helped Trace Curet prepare for his time at Chapman. He wasn’t sure what to do after Costa Mesa, where he actually loved baseball maybe just a bit more than football. He was a Daily Pilot Newport-Mesa Dream Team member in baseball.

Trace Curet endured the switch of two coaches in football, first playing for Jeremy Osso then Wally Grant. Safe to say, Osso had the offense pass a little more than Grant’s team in Trace Curet’s senior season.

That didn’t seem to bother Trace Curet. He was just eager to learn at Chapman. He said he never heard of the college, until a friend and former Costa Mesa football player Brian Waldron told him about the school and its football program.

From there Trace Curet was willing to make the jump and take on the challenge of playing college football.

“I am very proud with how he’s handled what could’ve been a difficult situation,” Trace Curet’s father, Luis, said of his son’s lack of playing time at Chapman. “He’s never moped or complained and he’s never put the blame on others. The lack of playing time has turned out to be a good thing. It taught him a lesson in life. It taught him more about adversity and how to react to it. I truly view it as a positive.”

Luis Curet, a sales and marketing executive in the cyber security industry, and Laurel Curet divorced when Trace was 8. Luis Curet has lived in the Silicon Valley the past three years, but still does his best to attend both of his sons’ games. He lives up north with his wife, Pennie, and their 6-year-old daughter, Jordyn.

Laurel Curet put aside a career in sales to be even more involved in her sons’ lives, as she has been a Costa Mesa High booster for all their sports for the past the past eight years and works as a special education instructional aide at Costa Mesa High.

“Helping my boys stay on track academically and encouraging them to build their future has been my full-time job,” she said. “I’m so grateful they appreciate my advice. Seeing Trace live these dreams and work so hard on and off the field is very rewarding.”

Both Trace and Cameron are happy with the love and support they receive from both families. The brothers encourage each other and they are proud of their younger sister, Jordyn, who is an aspiring model and competes in pageants.

Cameron Curet says his older brother has been a great role model, yet he isn’t too sure if he’ll play football in college.

Trace Curet respects his father for thriving in his career. However, Trace Curet is also grateful for sports, what he’s learned from them and how it helped keep him away from trouble or failures.

“Football has really taught me a lot that I didn’t have as a kid because my dad was really driven business-wise,” Trace Curet said. “So all I got to see from him was what it was like to be successful, but I never got to learn what it takes to be successful. He was already at the top. I was missing that in-between stage.”

Luis Curet said he is OK with his oldest son’s thoughts and maintains pride for his growth in becoming his own man. This week will be challenging for Luis Curet and his quest to see his sons play football, as he will be in Costa Mesa Thursday for Cameron’s game against Katella, then travel to Oregon to see Trace and the Panthers take on Linfield.

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THE FUTURE

Trace Curet, 21, says football at Chapman has also taught him how to take criticism. He makes the corrections and moves on, he says. This could be key in his future. He’s majoring in business administration with entrepreneurship as the emphasis.

He said the virtual enterprise business program at Costa Mesa High helped him realize that he wanted to study business administration at Chapman.

“I didn’t get to study abroad, but that is something I want to do. I want to travel,” Trace Curet said of what he wants to do after competing in his final season of football. “Maybe just the summer I’ll travel and see what the world has to offer. I’ve been in this Orange County bubble almost my whole life.”

Trace Curet says he’s been trying to take of advantage of all the opportunities and resources at Chapman. Turns out, that has also included football.