Jessica wishes her dad had a chance to see her on Team Canada.
Instead, she would learn just a month before, that her father suffered an unexpected heart attack and died. It almost stopped her from going to tryouts, but she remembered one thing he told her.
B次元官网网址淎 week before he passed, he said, B次元官网网址業 know you can make Team Canada,B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址� said Jessica. B次元官网网址淚 knew I should do it, because itB次元官网网址檚 what heB次元官网网址檇 want me to do.B次元官网网址�
Nineteen years ago
In order to understand the relationship between Geoff and his daughter, itB次元官网网址檚 important to know how it started, 19 years ago.
When Geoff and Erin Postle were awaiting the birth of their second child, Geoff had his fingers crossed. He was wishing for a boy B次元官网网址� but he got baby Jessica.
B次元官网网址淲hen they had a second girl, he was like, B次元官网网址極h! Great! A second girl!,B次元官网网址� said family friend Mimi Appelbe.
Geoff already had a daughter, and he wasnB次元官网网址檛 convinced that girls were going to take the torch from him. He was all about rugby, and he played while in the Canadian Armed Forces.
With the arrival of a second daughter, it felt like dad was never going to see his kids follow in his footsteps. ItB次元官网网址檚 something family and friends laugh about. They know what happened.
As the daughters grew up, a strange event kept repeating itself.
B次元官网网址淭heyB次元官网网址檇 sit together on the couch and watch (rugby) games,B次元官网网址� said GeoffB次元官网网址檚 wife, and the mother of the family, Erin.
Geoff and his two daughters could often be found huddled in front of the TV, with a rugby game paused. TheyB次元官网网址檇 be asking him all about whatB次元官网网址檚 going on, and heB次元官网网址檇 be telling them with an involuntary smile.
As time passed, the rubber met the road. The sisters advanced to Grade 8, and they both signed up to play rugby as soon as they could, at Mark Isfeld Secondary School.
It inevitably follows what the dad did when his girls signed up.
B次元官网网址淗e just jumped right on (as coach),B次元官网网址� said Appelbe. B次元官网网址淗e was so committed to making it work.B次元官网网址�
But there was one thing that Geoff would not compromise on.
B次元官网网址淭he first practice, they were like, B次元官网网址楧ad, can you be a bit nicer?,B次元官网网址� and he was like, B次元官网网址楴ope,B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址� said Erin. She laughs.
B次元官网网址�(He) was a tough coach with a soft heart.B次元官网网址�
Under dadB次元官网网址檚 coaching, Jessica became a solid rugby player. She left highschool with a full scholarship at Central Washington University.
Mom and dad dropped her off the following year, and it suddenly occurred to Geoff that Jessica was, as he put it, B次元官网网址渓iving my dream.B次元官网网址�
Team Canada reached out to Jessica during her first summer break. She was invited to tryout for the U20 team, and quickly told her father.
Geoff was ecstatic. He planned to travel with Jessica to tryouts, and if she made the team, heB次元官网网址檇 be there with her in Ottawa, too, at the games.
B次元官网网址淗e forwarded me the email because he was like, just over the moon,B次元官网网址� said Appelbe. B次元官网网址淲hich makes it even more heartbreaking, that, he didnB次元官网网址檛 get to see her play.B次元官网网址�
Two weeks before taking his daughter to tryouts, Geoff died of cardiac arrest in his yard. A message he sent one day before relayed exactly what he had learned from his daughter before he passed away:
B次元官网网址淣ever underestimate the power of a strong female rugby player,B次元官网网址� was the last message he sent to his girlsB次元官网网址� team at Mark Isfeld.
JessicaB次元官网网址檚 succession
Jessica was stricken by her fatherB次元官网网址檚 death. But something occurred to her while she was mourning, and almost dropped out of the competition.
B次元官网网址淎 week before he passed, he said, B次元官网网址業 know you can make Team Canada,B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淢y dad is the reason I started playing rugby. I knew I should do it, because itB次元官网网址檚 what heB次元官网网址檇 want me to do.B次元官网网址�
In light of everything that happened, Jessica packed her bags and went to tryouts. Now, it was a new feeling, however. As her dad would have been right by her side before to help her along the way.
B次元官网网址淪he was so stoic,B次元官网网址� said her mother Erin. B次元官网网址淚t was so fB次元官网网址次元官网网址ing hardB次元官网网址� She kept looking for him on the field.B次元官网网址�
Jessica said those moments when she looked to the crowd and saw nothing, were the hardest of the whole trip.
A month after Geoff passed away, his daughter was named to Team CanadaB次元官网网址檚 under-20 womenB次元官网网址檚 team.
DadB次元官网网址檚 video
When the day came for JessicaB次元官网网址檚 first game, her father had been gone for over a month. But he came back for one last appearance, in a shocking way.
B次元官网网址淥n the plane, her mom found a video that (Geoff) made last year,B次元官网网址� said Appelbe. B次元官网网址淚t was all about, just that, how proud he was of her.B次元官网网址�
In a home video that Geoff made a year before, he sits in his backyard, congratulating his daughter. Erin found the video while travelling to watch Jessica, and quickly sent it to her. Jessica saw her fatherB次元官网网址檚 video as she sat in Ottawa, preparing to play her first game.
B次元官网网址淗ey Jessica, dad here. Just wanted to let you know in a little videoB次元官网网址� I just want to tell you IB次元官网网址檓 so proud of you for your (high school) graduation today. I love you so much.
B次元官网网址淵ouB次元官网网址檙e going to go on to be a very successful woman. Some day, maybe youB次元官网网址檒l look back at the video and say, B次元官网网址榃ow, I didnB次元官网网址檛 think IB次元官网网址檇 be that successful.B次元官网网址� But you will be.B次元官网网址�
In July of 2023, Jessica stepped onto the field, and played for Team Canada.
Going forward
After her extraordinary summer experience, Jessica has returned to life at school. SheB次元官网网址檚 playing rugby on full scholarship at Central Washington University, and studying to be a high school teacher.
B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檇 love to come back here (to Comox) and coach rugby like my dad did,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淥r be a counsellor in the Valley or somewhere in B.C.B次元官网网址�
Jessica Postle said sheB次元官网网址檚 thankful for all the time she had with her father before he died, to help her become the woman she is today.
