Battle of the All-Stars, Philadelphia

Before this trip was ever planned, there were tryouts for Team Massachusetts. A bunch of the Furies went, and I was excited to be one of the skaters rostered. That meant a tournament in Philadelphia in February, but then we planned to leave in January...oops.

I spoke with the head coach and explained that I'd be away and that if he wanted to remove me from the roster, I'd completely understand and would still show up to support the team. But some injuries and other circumstances left us with just enough skaters to fill the bench, so I pieced together a set of gear borrowed from various other skaters and hit the track.

Photo credit: Sean Hale

It wasn't as strange as I thought it might be to return to skating after several months away. My endurance was low, but my skills were still there, and I performed better than I was afraid I would. It was wonderful to see a big chunk of my Western Mass friends again and to be part of a team once more, if only for a weekend.

We played four games, winning against New Jersey and Hawaii and losing to Texas and Maine. By Sunday, when we were finally able to kick back and relax, we were all bone tired and covered in bruises and grateful to be done playing.

Photo credit: Pablo Raw

Given the projected timeline of this trip, I probably won't be around when the next Team Mass tryouts happen, but I'd do it again, maybe in a couple of years. For now, it's back to the road.