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Welcome to my tour stop for Memoir of a Hockey Nobody by Jerry ‘Teabag’ Hack. Be sure to scroll to the end and enter the giveaway.
I would also like to welcome Jerry and am excited to share the background of the book.
Memoir of a Hockey Nobody
Background of the Book
The background for the book begins when I was 9. At the time I was the youngest of four children and the only boy. My oldest sister Marlene was watching the NHL Stanley Cup Finals between the Chicago Blackhawks and the Montreal Canadiens. I walked into the room and saw what was on the TV and decided to sit with her and watch. Marlene was my hero. I thought she was the smartest person alive and I found her endlessly interesting and entertaining. I loved her as much as is humanly possible for somebody to love another. She was almost seven years older than me and instead of being my sister, she was more like a second mom. If I ever did anything of note, I always wanted to show or tell her first. In return, she was my cheerleader. Always encouraging me and happy whenever I accomplished the smallest achievement. When I learned how to ride a bike she was jumping up and down and clapping like I had just won the Tour de France. I absolutely hated to disappoint her. I would rather chew glass. While we were watching the games in 1971, I was mesmerized by the two goalies. Ken Dryden and Tony Esposito. I knew what I my life’s ambition was to be at that moment in time. I was born to be a goalie. From that time on, I didn’t want to do anything else. I lived it and breathed it. It became my obsession for the next 45 years. I wasn’t able to play ice hockey as it was very expensive, and with 5 kids to raise (my younger sister was born in September 1971) it just wasn’t a possibility. But street hockey was another matter. All my friends seemed to be in the same boat. None of them played ice hockey but loved playing street hockey. It stayed that way until I was 18 and out of high school for a year. Through a twist of fate, I was able to join a men’s recreational ice hockey team (most people refer to it as “beer league”). I didn’t even know how to skate. People would tell me that the goalie has to be the best skater on the team. Let me tell you, I was far from being the best skater. I probably was 10 years behind the second worst skater on the team. I found myself always falling backwards. Somebody would be winding up for a slapshot and I would be flat on my back waving my hands in the air. My dream was to get paid to play hockey. And behind the scenes, there was always Marlene, cheering me on. When a boy is born (since Manon Rheaume is the only female to ever play in an NHL pre-season game, we’ll stipulate the odds are even greater for girls) and starts playing ice hockey at the age of 5 or 6, his odds of making it to the NHL are about 0.1%. I was starting at the age of 18, so the odds of me making it were astronomical, but I didn’t care. I was finally doing what I was born to do. I played whenever I could, wherever I could, with whomever I could. Someone I knew referred to me as a “hockey whore” because I would play with anyone. As years went by, I got better and better and finally realized my dream of getting paid to play hockey. I didn’t make it to the NHL, but I got close enough. I met a lot of amazing people. Best part is, I got to tell Marlene all about it. She was so proud of me. The worst part is, she only got to see me play one time. She had always planned on seeing me play more often, but our schedules just never seemed to jive. Marlene passed away on August 12th, 2005 from cancer. It is the toughest thing I have ever had to deal with. For the next five years, the grief was always with me, just below the surface, and I always felt that I could break down at any time. Whenever I played after that, I was hoping that she was watching and that she was proud of me. My book is, in part, dedicated to my big sister Marlene. She is, and always will be, my hero.
Jerry Hack
Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts, Jack. Good luck on the tour.
Memoir of a Hockey Nobody by Jerry Hack
GENRE: Biography and Autobiography / Sports
BLURB
Memoir of a Hockey Nobody is the unlikely true story of an average Canadian kid who grew up playing street hockey. Although he didn’t learn how to skate until his late teens, he took a shot at entering the world of professional ice hockey with, shall we say, haphazard results.
This is an “against all odds” tale of one man’s journey from Vancouver, to all over Western Canada, California, The Yukon, and Alaska. Seemingly blocked at every turn, from managers who believed that someone who came from such humble beginnings couldn’t be any good, to coaches who would rather see big names with bigger reputations. It’s a story of tragedy, triumph and determination. A roller coaster ride with hilarious anecdotes of all the characters he met along the way.
This is a tale for those who dare to live their dream!
EXCERPT
“Just one final note about my senior hockey career. I’ve never been a big believer in statistics. I like the quote from Bobby Bragan, who was a baseball player in the early 20th century. I’m paraphrasing but I believe he said, “The problem with statistics is, if you have one foot on fire and the other in a bucket of ice, according to the statisticians, you should be perfectly comfortable”. In the 4 seasons that I played for the Rebels, I won the Best Goalie trophy every year. 11 other goalies came and went during that time, some specifically to take my spot. I also won the league trophy for Best Goals Against Average every year. In 35 years of playing competitive hockey, I won a lot of trophies. The danger of winning that many is that you can start to think that you’re better than you are, (I call it “The Red Light Lonnie Syndrome”). I only kept one trophy from all those years and my wife is under strict instructions to show it to me if my head starts to get too big. I assumed that when the league bought the trophy that year, they sent it out to be engraved in a shop that didn’t employ sports fans. When I won the Best Goals Against award and it was presented to me, I read the inscription and it read:
“Best Average Goalie” “Jerry Hack”
How apt is that?”
AUTHOR Bio and Links
Author bio: I was born and raised in Burnaby, British Columbia. My sisters and I were raised by hard-working blue collar parents. We were and are a tight knit family. I grew up loving sports but hockey most of all. In fact, it was my passion. I read about it, watched it and played it. I was an average student and a good athlete. I could play most sports without looking out of place. But I was born to be a goalie. I graduated from high school in 1979 and a year later began my journey playing ice hockey. 40 years later, I am happily married with a 12 year old daughter and loving life more than ever.
Website: http://jerryhack.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Memoir-of-a-Hockey-Nobody-108751680786091/?modal=admin_todo_tour
BUY LINKS: Amazon / Indigo/Chapters / Barnes and Noble
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