Justin Fields started developing from his mother’s womb. Well, that’s how the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback’s single mom puts it. And no doubt, his ability and humbleness today in the NFL clearly states the hard work behind his parents.

Born on March 5, 1999, in Kennesaw, Ga., to mom Gina Tobey and dad Ivant ‘Pablo’ Fields, Justin Fields is the only child of the couple. When Fields was younger, the two decided to quit their marriage, divorcing each other. However, Justin Fields’s parents continued to fulfill their parental duties together for him.

After divorcing each other, Justin Fields’s father went on to marry Jo Ann Claudrik Fields, a lawyer by profession. Together, they have two daughters, via People, “softball star Jaiden Fields and budding college basketball star Jessica Fields.”

Ivan Field himself served in the military and was also an officer in the Atlanta Police Department from 1990 to 2012. But besides that, he earlier used to play linebacker for Eastern Kentucky. So, now we know from where Fields got his interest in football. But that’s just a half part of the story.

Justin Fields’s mother, who chose to be single till now, remained one of the pillars of the athlete. It’s because she was the one who advised the quarterback to choose the University of Georgia coming out of high school. Besides being a mom, Gina Tobey also worked as a sales or relationship manager. She “worked in the two fields for over 25 years after earning her bachelor’s degree from the Boston Conservatory at Berklee.” Although she went into sales at companies like DHL, Fleetcor and Telematics, the fact that she also studied vocal performance in opera makes her super talented. Well, whether she is still working in sales or not, is yet to be revealed.

But one thing is for sure, that Justin Fields’s parents loved their son and did everything to help him become a football star.

Justin Fields’s parents knew his skills from the start?

Justin Fields’s height is 6’3’’. Knowing his height, anyone (who doesn’t know about his job) can tell that he must be an athlete. But his parents, mom Gina Tobey and dad Ivant Fields, already knew from the start. His talent shone through as a toddler, when his dad noticed his knack for catching and shooting hoops before he could even spell “basketball.” Then, by age three, Justin was already hitting baseballs to the fence.

Hence, they started challenging him for his tasks to make him a good player under immense pressure. Once during an interview, Justin Fields’s mom said, “I always challenged him when he was young. I played classical music in the crib, you know, and even before he was born because they say that that expands the brain and renews parts of the brain that you typically wouldn’t use.” Similarly, talking about his father too, Fields revealed, “He was definitely very hard on me in terms of how I treated other people outside of [his] house, my respect for others and made me into the man I am today.” But as every story has a sad part in it, here in Fields’s case too, his path wasn’t without challenges. At 15, Justin was diagnosed with epilepsy after a seizure in class. While it scared him, he found strength knowing his mom, Gina, had battled and outgrown the same condition.

Till now, momma gives him constant reminders to take his medication on time. And through all these, Justin Fields, age 25, continues to make his name on the gridiron.