Page 118 of Untouchable Player

“I mean, when I finish college, I’m going to train to be a coach and get my graduate degree.”

Dad snorts, “with what money?”

“With the money I make from my job.”

“As a trainee coach? In what, the juniors? Do you want to be a high-school gym teacher? Or do you want to play in the NHL?”

“No Dad, I don’t want either, I want to be a sport’s coach, for kids. Coach Rolands got me an internship over the summer at this outreach programme…”

“Stop… just, stop.”

A vein is pulsing in his forehead, but I promise myself I won’t back down, not this time.

“A team in the ECHL scouted me as an enforcer,”

His head snaps up, and for a second, I see pride and hope in his eyes, but I realise, it isn’t really for me, it isn’t because he thinks it’ll make me happy, it’s becausehishard work andhispraying paid off.

“I turned them down.”

The vein pulses like crazy as he takes a deep breath.

“Why would you do that?”

“It was in North Carolina, they’re called the Steamrollers and they wanted me to fight.”

“That’s what you’re good at, it’s your strength. You’re not the best skater, not the fastest or…”

“Dad, stop.”

He bangs his fist down on the table and I jump. “No I won’t stop!”

His nostrils flare as he looks at me, “do you know how much me and your mother have sacrificed so you could play hockey? We remortgaged our house! I don’t know how we’re going to send your sister to college. And now you’ve pissed another opportunity up the wall, why? Because you didn’t want to move to North Carolina and be away from your…boyfriend?”

I bite my tongue.

“I don’t know how you turned into such a spoilt, selfish…” he clenches his jaw and takes a deep breath, “you’re going to call the coach in Carolina and tell him you changed your mind. You’ll try out, you’ll be the equipment assistant, whatever it takes to get a place on the team…”

“No Dad.”

His eyes are blazing as they burn a hole through me.

“Listen to me, I’m 21-years old, and I know you sacrificed a lot for me, and I love playing hockey, but I never asked for any of this.”

He scoffs, but I carry on talking.

“It wasyouwho pushed me to play in juniors, andyouwho pushed me to go to all those hockey camps, andyouwho pushed to get me trained by all the best coaches, andyouwho pushed me to apply for scholarships to play hockey in college when I didn’t get drafted, not me. I didn’t push for any of those things, and I definitely didn’t ask you to remortgage the house. If you’d have told me I couldn’t play hockey because you couldn’t afford it, I would have just played with cheap equipment for fun with my friends at the weekend. I love hockey dad, but no one ever told you I was a prodigy. You’re the one who told yourself I was gonna play in the NHL, no one else.”

“Are you done?”

“Yes, Dad, I’m done.”

It sucks watching the team play Madison Sq without me while I sit out injured, but the atmosphere is awesome and Nate is meeting me after the game so we can hang out in NYC and stay in a hotel.

It’s almost a vacation, the first of many I hope. Just as soon as I get my grad degree and start making slightly less shit money.

I know my dad will be watching this game and seething. Thinking about how he’ll never get to brag to the guys at the construction site about his son playing in the NHL, and I know he’s probably been telling everyone for years that’s what I’m going to do, but he shouldn’t have. That was never my dream, it was his. And I deserve to have my own life.

The team kick Quinnipiac’s ass 3-0 and I wish I could get down there and throw Petroski around with the guys, but I know I’m not allowed, even though my head is completely fine now.

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