On behalf of GM Ron Hextall and the Pittsburgh Penguins, this is your invitation to bring your dad on our annual Highmark Dads Trip, to be held February 27 through March 2, 2023 in Nashville and Tampa."
When that email hit my inbox, the emotions were visceral.
Inside Scoop: First Dads Trip
I've been working my dream job as team reporter for the Pittsburgh Penguins since graduating from college in 2010. Every time I think about what I want to do with my career, the answer is always… this. The little girl who first put on skates when she was just a few years old and fell in love with the sport could never have imagined that she would one day get to watch it for a living.
And now, for the first time ever, I have the opportunity to share that with my dad Duane - the man who first strapped a pair of yellow and blue Fisher Price roller skates with orange wheels over my tennis shoes and held me up as we went around our suburban Detroit neighborhood.
It's hard to put into words how much it means that the Penguins invited the fathers of not just the players, but of the entire support staff, to be with us over these next few days as we all go about our respective roles within professional sports. It's such a unique opportunity, and such a wonderful way to thank them for everything they have done to help get us to this point.
My dad never blinked an eye when I said I wanted to play hockey at the age of 4, with my parents always making me feel like I could (and can) do anything. And looking back on it, I realize now how truly special that was. There have been a number of women over the years who have come up to me and said they weren't allowed to play, because their parents felt like hockey was too rough.
Duane is a pharmacist who worked midnights while my two brothers and I were growing up so that he could be there for us as much as possible during the days, taking us to our games on probably no sleep and a LOT of coffee. I know that you hear these stories like that all the time from the players… and trust me, I cannot wait to tell them over the course of this trip.
But for me, it was different for me in the sense that I would never have the opportunity to play professionally. My parents' biggest hope was that maybe, I'd get a college scholarship. Otherwise, they put their full support behind me simply because I loved it so much.
That's what they've continued to do throughout my tenure with the Penguins, where I got hired the month I turned 22, a kid fresh out of college. Figuring out how to navigate professional sports, especially as a woman, and simply how to be an adult in general isn't easy. There's been a lot of growing pains, and Duane's been there for me every step of the way.
He's very invested from back home in Michigan, keeping up as much as he can - reading my articles, listening to me on the radio, and watching the games - and has truly become a big Penguins fan. The background of Duane's phone is a picture of Sid and I with the Cup, and he's mentioned before how cool it would be to meet Crosby someday. He got that chance last night, with the captain graciously taking a few minutes just to "hot stove," as Sid put it, with Duane before our group dinner. Afterward, my dad said he could head home right then and there, because that made his trip. But there's plenty more ahead of us over these next few days.
I plan to ask the players' dads for their favorite memories involving their kids, and figured I'd start with my own. So, when we were driving to the airport, Duane shared how when I was around 5 years old, I liked to play reporter with an old Fisher Price microphone. After one of his rec league basketball games, I held it up and said, "can I ask you some questions about the game?"
Duane's team had won by a point, so I started by saying, "what a close game! That No. 5 on the other team was really good. Are you happy you won?" After that, I said, "one last question. Usually, you shoot your free throws pretty good, but today you missed a bunch. Can you tell me why?"
After Duane finished cracking up at how I was already asking the tough questions, I thanked him for the interview, and walked away. He's really excited for the chance to see me doing that in action, along with making more memories that will be once-in-a-lifetime. It's going to be a great time, and I can't wait to give all of you a glimpse into it.
