Story #13

CAST LIST: Janelle Pierzina, CocoDaBear, Kaycee Clark, Lisa Donahue, Daniele Donato, Rachel Reilly

Janelle Pierzina wondered why Kaycee Clark, who she had been less than complimentary about on social media, was ringing her mobile. She wanted to let the call ring out entirely but, with her curiosity peaked, she picked up. Though she expected a barrage of abuse - which was likely what she deserved - she instead was offered a brow-raising opportunity. Though it wasn’t something she would usually agree to, she had nothing planned for the next few weeks. Five minutes later, she was packing an overnight bag and planning to hop on the next flight out to San Diego…
Kaycee hadn’t wanted to ring Janelle at all. In fact, she was at the very bottom of her list, but having exhausted all of her options, there was no other choice. She needed help if she was to bring the sport of women’s hockey into the spotlight, and who better to ask than one of the most iconic Big Brother houseguests of all time?
With Rachel Reilly, Lisa Donahue and Daniele Donato also on board, her team - which she had lovingly named The Tater Tots - were sure to become a force to be reckoned with. The only problem? Making sure they didn’t become a complete laughing stock. Not all of these women were known for their physical prowess, but with Kaycee’s history in professional football, she knew she could kick them into shape, given half the opportunity. Plus, they might feel a little safer and give it their all once they’d all been handed their mouth guards - they didn’t need to know that they were entirely optional.
Hockey obviously wasn’t Kaycee’s first sport of choice, but something deep within her made her want to make a change within her country, so that the next generation at least had the chance to pick it up should they see fit.
Despite 80% of Canada tuning in to the final men's hockey game during the 2010 Olympics, the sport just wasn't as popular in the United States and, having had some incredible friends miss out on major opportunities because of that fact, Kaycee wanted to change things. What better way to do that, than from the inside?
After three days of training, plenty of shade being thrown and, a couple of monstrous arguments, Kaycee dropped the bomb she had been dreading.
“I didn’t just ask you all down here to raise some awareness for women’s hockey,” Kaycee started. “The truth is, we’re not just training for a few days, posting some videos on our Instagram accounts and attaching a hashtag. We’re taking things to the next level. We’re going to be competing against another squad in just a few days. They’re called Chinchilla and they take no prisoners. And there’s only so much I can do. So, allow me to introduce you to our coach for the next few days. Ladies, meet Coco.”
The women stood in silence as they watched a friendly-looking woman walk into the room. Despite her wearing a giant teddy bear costume, that wasn’t at the centre of questioning for the ladies. Instead, they all wanted answers about what they had actually signed up for.
Rachel threw things, Daniele studied Coco with a silent but deadly stare but, after an hour of back-and-forth, everybody was on board.
They might not be the NHL's all-time highest scorer Wayne Gretzky, but they were a squad Kaycee could be proud of; and that's all she could ever have asked for. Plus, they were hot. Hot like Tater Tots.