NBtM Virtual Tour and Giveaway: Memoir of Hockey Nobody by Jerry "Teabag" Hack

Welcome to my stop on the NBtM virtual tour for Memoir of a Hockey Nobody by Jerry "Teabag" Hack. This tour was organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. On my stop, I have an excerpt as well as a guest post for you. There's also a tour wide giveaway to win a $25 Amazon or Barnes & Noble gift card. Be sure to check out the rest of the stops on the tour for more content. Enjoy!

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Title: Memoir of a Hockey Nobody
Author: Jerry "Teabag" Hack
Publisher: Tellwell Talent
Publication Date: March 24th 20202
Print Length: 230 pages
Genre: Sports Autobiography

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Memoir of a Hockey Nobody is the unlikely true story of an average Canadian kid who grew up playing street hockey. Although he didn't learn how to skate until his late teens, he took a shot at entering the world of professional ice hockey with, shall we say, haphazard results.

This is an "against all odds" tale of one man's journey from Vancouver, to all over Western Canada, California, The Yukon, and Alaska. Seemingly blocked at every turn, from managers who believed that someone who came from such humble beginnings couldn't be any good, to coaches who would rather see big names with bigger reputations. It's a story of tragedy, triumph and determination. A roller coaster ride with hilarious anecdotes of all the characters he met along the way.

This is a tale for those who dare to live their dream!

Goodreads * Amazon * Barnes & Noble *

Book Depository * Books-A-Million * IndieBound *

Indigo * Kobo * Smashwords

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EXCERPT:

Just one final note about my senior hockey career. I’ve never been a big believer in statistics. I like the quote from Bobby Bragan, who was a baseball player in the early 20th century. I’m paraphrasing but I believe he said, “The problem with statistics is, if you have one foot on fire and the other in a bucket of ice, according to the statisticians, you should be perfectly comfortable”. In the 4 seasons that I played for the Rebels, I won the Best Goalie trophy every year. 11 other goalies came and went during that time, some specifically to take my spot. I also won the league trophy for Best Goals Against Average every year. In 35 years of playing competitive hockey, I won a lot of trophies. The danger of winning that many is that you can start to think that you’re better than you are, (I call it “The Red Light Lonnie Syndrome”). I only kept one trophy from all those years and my wife is under strict instructions to show it to me if my head starts to get too big. I assumed that when the league bought the trophy that year, they sent it out to be engraved in a shop that didn’t employ sports fans. When I won the Best Goals Against award and it was presented to me, I read the inscription and it read:

“Best Average Goalie” “Jerry Hack”

How apt is that?”

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

I was born and raised in Burnaby, British Columbia. My sisters and I were raised by hard-working blue collar parents. We were and are a tight knit family. I grew up loving sports but hockey most of all. In fact, it was my passion. I read about it, watched it and played it. I was an average student and a good athlete. I could play most sports without looking out of place. But I was born to be a goalie. I graduated from high school in 1979 and a year later began my journey playing ice hockey. 40 years later, I am happily married with a 12 year old daughter and loving life more than ever.

Website * Facebook

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GUEST POST:

When did you decide you wanted to write your memoir? Who or what inspired you to write it?

I had never even considered writing my memoir until late October of 2019. It just kind of happened. I had been posting stories about my hockey playing days (people I had played with or met that did or said crazy or funny things) on Facebook. The stories were getting very popular and more than a few of my friends responded by saying that I should write a book. I hadn’t written anything since high school, and that was over 40 years ago. I asked my wife what she thought of the idea and she said it was worth giving it a shot. What got me to seriously consider writing it, was that both my parents had passed away in recent years and I didn’t really know their story. I never really asked what it was like for them growing up in the 30’s and 40’s. What their activities were. What were their aspirations, or their hopes and dreams. It got me thinking about my own daughter and how I didn’t want to leave this life without her knowing my history. She’s 12 now and really has no interest in hearing about it, but I thought if I wrote a book, she can pick it up anytime and read about my life, and she could know my tale. Or at least a good part of it.

I wrote the first couple of chapters and let my wife read them. Not really knowing if what I had written was very good, I was on pins and needles while she read. My wife is a very stoic person and not one to outwardly show emotion. To get her to laugh out loud is very difficult. Whenever I make a joke, she usually just rolls her eyes and groans, or if it’s really hilarious she’ll just look at me, with no hint of a smile, and say “funny”. It’s pretty obvious that she did not marry me for my sense of humour. When she read what I had written she actually burst out laughing a couple of times, and at one point she started to cry, so I figured that I was onto something. I wrote the rest of my story and she loved it. The fact that I have written a book is mind blowing to me. For something like this to happen so spontaneously, I can’t really describe the feeling. It happened so organically that I think that will be its appeal. The story is honest and heartfelt. So really, it was my parents, my daughter, and my wife who inspired me to write the book. If Brooklynn (my daughter) was the only one to ever read it, I would be fine with that. But selling a million copies wouldn’t hurt my feelings! LOL!

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GIVEAWAY:

Jerry Hack will be awarding a $25 Amazon or Barnes & Noble gift card to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter after the tour. To increase your chance of winning, leave a comment at a different stop on the tour each day. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway