The Penalty Box

The story behind The Penalty Box plus a thank you from me

Hello there, I decided to write this, because there is a great story behind how I got the idea for this book. Or at least, I seem to think it's a good story.

See, I grew up a little sister (by three and a half years) to a hockey player. My big brother started playing travel when I was about three, and hasn't stopped since. He's of course off at college now, but is still playing to this day.

When I was somewhere between 12-13, I started to get the idea to write about hockey. My experience as a full time 'hockey sister' was coming to an end, or so I thought. Spoiler alert, my brother went on to play in the USPHL for two amazing seasons. I'm still a Whaler at heart, even if he hasn't played there for two years.

Anyway, I was sitting in a hockey rink in Wake Forest, NC (that rink had been home to me for many years at that point.) and I got the grand idea and started writing.

I didn't expect it to go anywhere, after all I was a child writing about a sport that I'd only spent two seasons playing. However, I knew what it was like to be a girl playing among all the guys, so I went with it.

Without even realizing it, many of the characters ended up being based off of many of my brothers teammates that I'd grown up with. Joshua Mason in particular. He was given the name Joshua after a very close friend of ours, whom I 100% considered to be my brother, and still do to this day. Joshua got many of his traits, and hockey abilities from so many different people in my life. He also happened to be my favorite character out of them all.

Coty was also a mix of a lot of players. His game play came from one of my brother's line mates, his humor from a teammate from long ago, and his compassion from teammate that I still hold dear. (Don't worry, they're all still brothers to me)

Bottom line, this story was over ten years in the making, because of all of the people that influenced it.

I dedicated the whole book to Justin, who was one of the most naturally gifted players I'd ever met. He was unfortunately taken from us far too soon. He was also the main inspiration for Joshua Mason's character.

When I made the decision to write out Joshua's character, I did it knowing I could somehow use it to honor Justin. It might not make sense to some of you, but in my heart it was the only thing I knew to do. In all honesty, I also needed to do it to cope.

I can still remember walking into the church the night of Justin's funeral and seeing the old team in their old jerseys. Since my brother was in the middle of his season and wasn't able to come home, I wore his jersey for him.

That particular team hadn't all been together like that since they all played together years before hand, but one look at each other and we all gathered together and just hugged one another. There were no words that could've been spoken in that moment.

The thing about hockey is, you gain a family unlike any other. Because I remember in that moment, I was no longer just the little sister, I was one of them. It broke all of our hearts to lose Justin, and the loss is still felt every time I walk back into the rink that he worked at.

Which is why I wrote about it, so that I'd never be able to forget what it was like to have him in our life, and have the entire Raleigh hockey community come together. The deeply rooted rivalry's no longer mattered. Because we all stood together and mourned the loss of our own.

Now, as far as Coty making it to the NHL, I promise it's possible for a Raleigh native to do it. Because it happened this year, and it almost happened to one of my many brothers. He unfortunately had an injury that prevented him from doing so. So, I wrote on, hoping maybe someday another one of my brothers could live out Coty's story.

The team name, Carolina Lightning, came from the team that my brother played for at the start of his ice career. They've since had to disband due to loss of funding. I still hope one day, just like in this story, they can find their way back. They truly were trailblazers for Raleigh hockey. They took in the misfits that the big name teams didn't want and turned them into incredible championship winning teams. I wish they would've really been able to bring home the National Championship.

Also, I am a firm believer that we will bring the cup home again. But until then, I will wait and cheer as other teams make history as well.

The last thing I'd like to say is: thank you.

You've stuck with me through many of my writing phases, and never have I stuck to a project as long as I have with this one.

The thirteen old that started writing this many years ago, is now seventeen, and is almost ready to go out on her own.

I still dream just as big as I did four years ago, and I'd like to thank you all, for in someway, dreaming along with me.

Much love from a little hockey sister. I am undeniably grateful for all of you and all of the support you've shown me over the years.

Lightning forever and always.