Sam Brown was in the locker room getting her gear on. She was ready for another practice with her friends. It was actually more of a tryout to see who'd make the team and who wouldn't. None of them, her friends or her coaches, however, knew that she was a girl. "Hi, Sam", one of her friends, Jacob Sullivan, greeted her as he entered the locker room. "Hi, Jake! How's it going", Sam greeted him from her locker. "Not bad. How about you", he asked, taking his place by her. "Not bad", was Sam's reply. Jacob grinned and messed up his friend's hair. "Are you ready for another practice", he asked. Sam smirked. "I'm ready to kick your butt", she replied. Jacob's mouth dropped open. "Are you sure about that, squirt? It's more like I'm going to kick your butt", he retorted. Sam shook her head and threw her shoulder pad at him. "Shut up, Sullivan. You're going down today", she replied. Jacob just grinned and handed her shoulder pad back. "Thanks, Jake", she said, putting on her shoulder pad before throwing her jersey on. Jacob laughed and slapped her butt as she stood up. "No problem, buddy. See ya on the ice". Sam winked at him before heading out the locker room door.
"C'mon, Brown! You can do better than that". Sam cringed as her coach yelled at her from the center ice circle. She'd been defending against two of her friends and hadn't done a very good job of it. "Sorry, coach", she mumbled. "Try harder next time, Brown. Take a break", her coach told her. Sam skated to the bench and sat next to Jacob. She took her drink of her water and slammed the bottle back into its place, feeling frustrated with herself. "I think you did pretty good out there, Sam", Jacob said. Sam shrugged. "It wasn't enough to please coach", she replied. Jacob smiled and wrapped an arm around his friend's shoulders. "Coach isn't easy to please. Just try it again next time. You'll do fine", he said. Sam finally smiled. "Thanks, Jake", she said. "You're welcome, Sam". "Brown! Are you ready to try that again", coach yelled. Sam glanced at Jacob, who gave her a wink. "Yes, coach. I'm coming", she called back.
Practice was over, but Sam was still on the ice. She always spent some extra minutes on the ice after practice, stretching and cooling off. She hadn't realized that Jacob was watching her. "Yo, Brown! You coming", he yelled. Sam chuckled and made her way to the bench. "Yeah, I'm coming. I was just stretching and cooling down", she replied, grinned at her friend. Just then, coach appeared. "Sam? Can I talk to you for a minute", he asked. Sam nodded and followed her coach to the weight room. Coach placed a hand on her shoulder. "Sam, you're not on the team. You didn't make it. You're too small. I need big players". Sam felt like someone had punched her stomach. "I understand, coach", she said. Coach patted her shoulder and left the room. Sam, after a few minutes, left as well. She made her way to the locker room, where all of her friends were. "Hey, Brownie! You ready for tomorrow", Luke Allen asked. Sam felt her eyes sting with tears. "No, Luke. I won't be here tomorrow", she said, her voice cracking. Jacob stared at her. "What? You won't be here? Why not, Sam", he asked. Sam swallowed hard. "I-I didn't make the team. Coach said that I'm too small", she replied, burying her head in her hands. She felt someone's arms around her. "Coach is wrong. You should have been on the team. We can't all be big players! Should we go talk to him, Brownie", Jacob asked. Sam shook her head. "Don't. I don't want any trouble. I'll accept it, hard as it is", she replied.
Sam smiled when she saw her uncle's car waiting for her. "Hi, Sammy! How did it go", he asked. Sam threw her bag in the trunk. "I didn't make the team. Coach said I was too small", she replied as she got in the car. Her uncle's face turned red. "Why, that's the biggest piece of crap I ever heard. Teams need speed and small player too, not just big ones", he said angrily. Sam grinned and touched her uncle's arm. "It's okay, Uncle Robbie. What's done is done", she said. Rob smiled and messed up his niece's hair. "That's my girl. What do you say we go home and have some of my special pasta", he asked. Sam nodded in agreement. "Okay! Let's go", she said.
It was later that day that Uncle Rob got a call from his friend, Daniel Miller. "Hi, Danny". "Hi, Rob. I'm calling about your nephew". Rob smiled. "Sam? What about him", he asked. "I saw his play on tapes for those tryouts that he did. He's a great player". "Thanks, Danny. He didn't make it". "I'm sorry to hear that. But that's what I was calling about". Rob felt his heart beat quicken. "What for?" "Well, you know how I'm a scout for the Detroit Red Wings? I had been scouting that tryout for a while. And I noticed your nephew almost instantly. He's like Zetterberg: he keeps the puck away from other players, he's got speed and he seems pretty good defensively. I was thinking that if he didn't make it, he might come to training camp with us. Coach Babcock-I showed him the tapes-he agreed". Rob almost fainted. "Are you serious? When would you leave?" "Tomorrow morning I think". Rob almost leaped for joy. "I think he'd like that. Can I call you back? I wanna talk to him". "Sure! Call me as soon as you get his answer!" Rob hung up and went to find Sam. Sam was in her bedroom, listening to her iPod. Rob tapped her shoulder. Sam looked up and pulled out her earphones. "What's up, Uncle Robbie". Rob sat on the bed. "Do you remember me talking about my friend Daniel Miller", he asked. Sam pushed herself up, leaning her head against the wall. "That scout for the Red Wings? Sure I remember". Rob grinned. "Well, he called me just a few minutes ago. He was wondering if you'd be interested in coming to training camp with them. He watched your tryout tapes and he said you're a great player". Sam didn't answer for several minutes. "Are you kidding me? Of course I want to go! I've been dreaming about this forever", she finally said, getting up from her sitting position and jumping on the bed. Rob laughed, watching his niece for a few minutes before he went to the telephone. "Danny? It's a go. He's going alright". "Good! Would it take you that long to drive up there?" "Na. maybe three to four hours at the most. We'll be there. See you tomorrow, Danny!" The two old friends hung up.
Sam, after she heard the news, started to jump on the bed. –I can't believe it! I'm actually going! Training camp, preseason, regular season, playoffs! It'll be great-she thought to herself. She quickly dialed her best friend-Emily Black's-number. "Hello?" "Emily! Have! I! Got! News! For! You", Sam practically yelled into the phone. "You made the team? That's awesome, Sam". "No, Emily. I didn't make the team. I'm on a higher level than that". "I don't under- oh my gosh! You're in the NHL". Sam laughed. "Yep, I sure am. I'm going to training camp tomorrow for Detroit! So excited". "I am too! Sam, that's awesome!" The two friends talked for a little while longer before they hung up. Sam raced out to the family room and jumped into her uncle's arms. "I'm going! I'm going", she yelled. Rob grinned at his niece. "Yes, you are Sam. Now we should get to bed. We're going to be getting up early you know".