Glove Save and a Beauty by K.R. Collins

Author:K.R. Collins [Collins, K.R.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: NineStar Press, LGBTQIA+, Contemporary, seasonal, Sports, asexual, hockey, goaltender, thanksgiving
Publisher: NineStar Press, LLC
Published: 2020-12-14T23:00:00+00:00

Fall 2006

Gabrielle came late to hockey. While her neighbors strapped on roller blades and played street hockey, she practiced pliés in her room. Her dad constructed a mirrored wall and installed a barre so she had the space to work on her technique.

She learned to skate at the same time she learned to walk, but her mom put her in figure skating rather than hockey. Gabrielle loved it, from the sparkling outfits to the precision each move required. Between ballet and figure skating, she had plenty to occupy her time. It didn’t keep her gaze from straying to the far side of the ice, where a hockey team would practice while Coach Yarapova taught her group how to spot so they didn’t make themselves dizzy spinning.

From the start, Gabrielle’s attention was drawn to the goalie. He was singled out, special, with a different stick than all the others. He had a glove and even his helmet was different. He stayed in his net while his team roamed.

What sealed her love for hockey, though it takes some time for her to realize it, was the day the coach demonstrated something called the butterfly. She never expected hockey, with its hard hits and bulky equipment, would have an elegant move. The coach pressed his knees and lower legs flat to the ice and then dropped his hips until he was doing a partial split. He sealed the bottom of his net so no pucks could slip under. When his three goalies tried, they weren’t flexible enough to do it right.

Gabrielle was.

After figure skating practice, she tucked herself against the wall, out of the way of everyone else on the ice. She easily dropped into the butterfly. Even without the extra padding to help her, she could press her thighs against the ice. She watched the coach demonstrate how to kick out from the position. Years of ballet kept her core locked tight and her balance steady as she mirrored him.

The hockey player toppled over.

She felt a sharp kind of pride. I can do something he can’t. It wasn’t enough to make her drop either of her passions for something new, but she began to watch. She told her mom Coach Yarapova extended practice by half an hour to give herself the opportunity to continue watching the hockey team. She mirrored the goalie drills and, when there wasn’t anything new being taught, she practiced what she already learned.

When her figure-skating class held a bake sale to raise money for an upcoming trip, she dutifully attended her shifts and then slipped inside the rink to watch the hockey tournament.

Coach Timoshin, who coached the team she watched at the end of figure-skating practice, found her at the tournament, her face pressed against the glass. He didn’t laugh at her interest or give her a hard time for watching his practices. He stood next to her for a whole period, listened to her observations on the game, and then asked if she ever considered playing.

She hadn’t—her

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