Sacrifice

Chapter 8

The puck dropped and Ryan immediately took the puck and beat one defender wide. Five seconds into the game and Ryan had a breakaway in all alone on the goalie, dekes left then right and fires it off the post. That summed up his luck right now but he didn't let it get to his head.

"Hey great shift bud, it's coming, just keep pushing" his coach had said to him on the bench. Windsor had jumped out to the early lead, winning 1-0 at the end of the first period. In the locker room Ryan sat in silence, this was supposed to be his big game and he hit the post. The team remained positive with people yelling clichés like "we got this boys" or "keep working we're only down by one."

Usually Ryan would be speaking to the team at this point but he hadn't moved a muscle in his stall. The buzzer had gone and it was time to head out to the rink, Ryan walked last in line.

Halfway through the second period Ryan had been forechecking behind the Windsor net and outworked the opposing defenceman to get the puck and quickly wrap it around the net. It barely crossed the line but Ryan jumped up as what felt like the weight of the world had been lifted off his shoulders. His goal scoring slump was finally over and the team cheered for Ryan as he skated by the bench.

Most people don't understand just how much confidence plays in the success of an athlete. Confidence combined with raw skill and determination was a recipe for success and Ryan's coaches knew the beast had just been awakened.

Ryan had gone on to score three goals this game and two assists as Brampton won the game by a score of 6-1. Ryan was the first star of the game and felt on top of the world during the bus ride home, joking and laughing with his friends at the back of the bus.

Ryan had rode the wave of success up to December but unfortunately his team hadn't experienced the same success as Ryan's personal statistics. While Ryan was first in the league in points his team was sitting in second last place with almost no chance of making playoffs. Ryan had been called into the coaching office before the last practice until the Christmas break.

"Good news and bad news Ryan. I'm going to give you the good news first..." There was a pause before the coach looked up again.

"You have scholarship interest from a couple of the top schools in the U.S"

Ryan's face gleamed with excitement, "Which schools?" he quickly asked.

"Boston College, Harvard, and Michigan State have all contacted me this week."

Ryan had a huge smile he was trying to hide. He looked down and then back up at coach

"So what's the bad news then?" Ryan look confused at the coach.

"You're grades are way too low to get into the schools. The hockey team wants you but you don't have the smarts to even get into the school, are you stupid or what?" The coach began to raise his voice.

Ryan stared blankly at his shoes trying to gather his thoughts. All he could say was "I cant believe it..."

His goal was to play college hockey at a high level the next year, before hopefully making the NHL. This was a wake up call for Ryan as he would usually spend his nights with Alyssa or in the gym rather than studying for tests. If he was going to have any chance at earning a scholarship he had to bring all his courses up by a whole letter grade.

Alyssa was a very understanding girl who was usually willing to make sacrifices for Ryan. When Ryan broke the news to her, it was a tough pill to swallow. They already barely saw each other throughout the week and now that it would be even less it would test their relationship.

Ryan's Dad reminded him he is a top prospect striving to be a professional athlete. He had to realize he was one of the best players in the entire world for his age with different priorities than a regular high school student. Which means your entire life revolves around hockey, working out and school. Ryan had been to one party in the last four months and hadn't seen his friends outside of school ever since he started dating Alyssa. These sacrifices are what it takes to become a professional athlete and Ryan knew it.

Alyssa had offered Ryan to help him study for his biology test that night, but Ryan decided it would be better if he studied by himself without distractions. This crushed Alyssa but she didn't show it and Ryan had no idea.