Game Changer is an older story I wrote in several forms about a girl with a love of hockey who is determined to return to her favourite sport, and usually includes magic and mayhem. To learn more about it, take a look below.
Despite having been out of the home of her controlling mother and stepfather for several years, now, Abby still hasn't returned to the sport that used to bring her so much joy: hockey. Her stepfather, a fundamentalist Christian, forbid her from playing it because "sports aren't for girls". It broke Abby's heart after her father's death, because her love of the game felt like the only thing she had left of him. But as time went on, she felt maybe it would bring back too many memories she couldn't handle, so she kept away from it.
Now fresh out of university, with a degree she isn't sure what to do with, and living alone in a bachelor apartment, Abby doesn't know where to go next. When she keeps getting targeted promos on her social media feeds for a little local hockey league, she feels like it's fate pushing her to pick it up again. So she musters all her emotional strength and heads down to the rink with her skates on the day of tryouts.
Abby is shocked to find the little rec league is men only. She's determined not to let that stand in her way, and after stumbling a bit, she gets out there and manages to impress the coach with her skating and stick-handling skills. He finally decides to let her in as the only woman on the team. At first Abby is thrilled. But something funny is going on... something she can't explain that's going to cause all kinds of chaos and change her forever.
Abby is a recent grad from a business program, but her true passion has always been hockey. Even though she no longer plays, she still tries to find time to watch the games or stream them later. Ever since losing her dad and being disallowed from pursuing her favourite hobby, she's become a bit of a crank and a pessimist, always feeling like nothing is going her way and feeling trapped by her circumstances. Before her father passed away, she was an excitable, rambunctious tomboy with a lot of friends of both genders. Now, her only friends are Natalie and Tyler. While she was in school, she mostly filled all her spare time with shifts at her local nationally-popular chain coffee shop in order to make rent for her bachelor apartment. Applying for jobs has been stressful, but she can attribute the process to discovering a promising local rec league... Natalie is Abby's best friend, and has been since elementary school, when Abby noticed her sitting by herself and went right up and introduced herself. Natalie is extremely shy, but also extremely sweet, and will do everything for those who show they care about her. She's a bit of a geek and has been drawing for as long as she could hold a pencil. She now does it as a freelancer after a brief stint in art school, mostly as an illustrator. It's a job she likes because she usually doesn't even meet her clients face to face. She also enjoys baking, and Abby is always cheered up by some of her brownies, cookies, or cake. Natalie tries her hardest to encourage Abby in whatever she's trying to do, and when Abby tells her about the rec league, she's the first to boost her up and tell her to show the guys at the rink who's boss. Mike is the head coach of the team in the rec league Abby wants to be part of. It IS a rec league, but you can expect criticism of techique and a hard workout with Coach Mike at the helm. He takes his role very seriously, and the reason he initially denies Abby the chance to prove herself is not because he doesn't think she can do it, as a woman, but because he's hard about the rules of the league. After seeing her skill, all that he cares about is having it on his team. Although he eventually turns out to be on her side, Abby can't help but feel that there's something a little funny about Coach Mike. Sure, he's nice, and gives criticism when expected and needed, and drives and takes care of his players and ensures she feels included, but there's something else that Abby can't quite put her finger on... Tyler is Abby's buddy from college. They both did business degrees, but besides that, they discovered their mutual interest in hockey pretty early on, and he is essentially the only friend she ever made in college. He's a typical jock, and was on the varsity hockey team. He's not too smart, but always there for his friends, even going so far as to invite Abby to frat parties and to go drinking with him and his pals. Abby often imagines that Tyler is what she would have been like if she was a boy. Besides hockey, he likes to party, and he has a car that he considers his baby. He also has a dog named Ranger of which he is the proud pet dad, and Abby is an honourary pet auntie. He also enjoys hiking with Ranger, posting pictures of the places he went to his social media accounts, and the occasional hookup or short-term relationship.
Abigail "Abby" Gerard
Natalie Downey
Michael "Mike" McIntosh
Tyler Slaunwhite