Story #4

Tater Tots
Cast
Forward 1) Tiffany Mitchell
Forward 2) Raven Walton
Forward 3) Da’Vonne Rogers
Forward 4) Jun Song
Forward 5) Janelle Pierzina
Forward 6) Rachel Reilly
Forward 7) Paola Shea Racelis
Forward Britini D’Angelo
Forward 9) Chima Simone
Forward 10) Daniele Donato
Forward 11) Liz Nolan
Forward 12) Julia Nolan
Defense 1) Amber Borzotra
Defense 2) Sarah Steagall
Defense 3) Hannah Chaddha
Defense 4) Nicole Franzel
Defense 5) Alyssa Lopez
Defense 6) Jillian Parker
Goalie 1) Vanessa Rousso
Goalie 2) Jordan Lloyd
Coach) Posey

Vanessa looks down at her hands, picking at her skin before she hears Posey ask, “so how about you Vanessa? How have you been?” Vanessa didn’t want to lie, but she knew the only way for her to get the help she needed was to be honest about her struggles. She mumbles out a quick, “I’ve been better” before looking back down at her hands. Ever since Vanessa was caught buying cocaine, she has tried her best to stay clean, but it’s not easy to go from doing something everyday to never again. She thought joining this group would help but meeting only once a week for an hour or two isn’t sufficient support she needs to overcome this addiction. “I don’t know about you guys, but I’ve been really struggling with ways to occupy my mind,” Tiffany chimes in. Vanessa thought about what the girl across from her just said realizing it was a struggle she had faced as well. Tiffany continues, “sometimes I just think that I already wasted my life away on drugs and that it can never get better and trying to fill my mind with other things is just so difficult.” “I think that is a very hard thing to overcome, even after time your mind may slip back to thinking about relapsing,” Posey spoke, “but I think something that has helped many people that are trying to overcome addictions is finding an outlet you can turn to instead. Does anyone else have anything to share?” Everyone sat in silence as we waited for Posey to dismiss us. “Does anyone play any sports?” Da’Vonne asked before Posey could speak. “I used to play hockey in college,” Posey chimed up. “Could you teach us?” Da’Vonne questioned. Posey sat for a second mentally debating if he was willing to take on this task. He knew it would require lots of practice, but also knew it could be very beneficially to the women sitting around him. “I can,” he finally replied, “but I want you guys to know this won’t be easy, it will take a lot of days of practice.” Once everyone agreed to a time to meet for the next practice, they all went their separate ways. On the first day of practice everyone arrived on time except for Vanessa. Raven was dressed in an old worn-down hockey uniform that she claimed was her grandma’s old uniform from college. Da’Vonne walked in holding a hockey puck as she cheerly asked, “does anyone know the diameter of a hockey puck is 3 inches?” to which she got only a few laughs. Everyone else looked underprepared and overexcited. “So first thing is first team, we should come up with a name for ourselves,” Posey said while taking in everyone in front of him. “Where is Vanessa?” he asked. “I haven’t heard from Vanessa today, but I think our team name should be the Chinchilla’s! They are my favourite animal!” Jordan exclaimed quickly. Paola looked up and uttered, “well before I left my son asked me to pitch the team name Tater Tots after his favourite food!” “A vote it is” exclaimed Posey. The vote was 13-7 in favor of the name Tater Tots for the team. The first day of practice went okay, but Posey was still wondering why Vanessa didn’t show up. After practice, Posey decided to drive over to Vanessa’s house to figure out what was going on. He pulled into her driveway and shut off his car, before walking up to the door and ringing the doorbell. A bewildered Vanessa opened the door with a baby in one hand and a bottle in the other. “Why weren’t you at our practice today? It’s our first one! This isn’t the best way to start this team” Posey huffs in annoyance. “I couldn’t find a babysitter in time, and her father is out of the picture, so I couldn’t make it,” she muttered while looking down at her baby. Posey sat for a moment before saying, “bring her with you to practice, I will watch over her while you practice, but I don’t want you to miss this. I think it could be a good thing for you.” Vanessa smiled before hesitantly asking Posey, “are you sure about that? She can be a lot to handle sometimes.” “Of course, I can handle it for a few hours every day. You need a break Vanessa,” Posey exclaimed. Vanessa agreed she would come to practice tomorrow and bring her daughter. The next day at practice went well and continued to go well for a couple months. Everyone was showing up and learning the sport well, and even more than that, they were working great as a team. One day Posey came to practice with a brochure in his hands. “I got this in the mail today. It’s a flyer for Canada’s Women Hockey tournament, and they want us to be there. Its next to the Hockey Hall of Fame, which is in Toronto, Ontario,” Posey tells the girls. They all excitedly agree and have an amazing few practices before they have to leave for the tournament. Although their team had not been around long, word was out that the Tater Tots were coming in hot and were big competition. The first two games were blow outs, with the Tater Tots winning 15-3 and then again winning 12-5. The next game was a bit closer and the girls struggled a bit maintaining their lead, but still the Tater Tots were victorious with a 9-7 score. Finally, they were in their last game, the game that determined who the champion would be for Canada’s Women Hockey tournament. The referee grabbed a hockey puck out of the freezer, since before games, the pucks are frozen to prevent them from bouncing. He placed the puck on the ice and the girls went at it. The match was close with one team scoring then the other team scoring right after. Posey sat sideline with Vanessa’s baby in his arms as he watched the game nervously. The score was tied, 11-11 with only 30 seconds of the game remaining to determine who will be the champions of the Canadians Women’s Hockey tournament. The Tater Tots opponents had the puck and were passing it back and forth when the puck flew in the air and headed towards Posey and Vanessa’s baby. The puck was coming right for the baby’s head when Posey quickly used his water bottle to block the puck from harming the child, while doing so knocking the puck in bounds straight to the other team. They were able to get the puck in a good position, before scoring and winning the tournament. The Tater Tots were super disappointed, and everyone walked to the locker room in silence. Once everyone was seated Posey spoke up, “I want you ladies to know that I am so proud of you all. I am proud of the women you have become, and I am proud to see you guys work so well as a team. I have seen a lot of growth from everyone these past few weeks and to even get second after only a couple months of practice is a great achievement you all should be proud of. I know first place would have been nice, but don’t forget what an accomplishment it is that you all are here receiving second.” The girls realized they shouldn’t be upset for not placing first, but instead be proud of their accomplishments thus far and will use this to work harder and get better for the next tournament. They continued to practice day after day, and all stayed committed to the team and learned how to support each other. They realized that they didn’t need a trophy to prove anything, they just needed each other. They ended up winning the next tournament they went to and became Canada’s best women hockey team!