It was late in the evening when our bus finally arrived at the hotel. Travel weary, I gathered up all of the snack wrappers, my MP3 player, water bottle and book and stood as the interior lights came on. All around me Jen's teammates from the Hellcats were doing the same, all wearing the same tired and slightly dazed look I'm sure I had on. A few rows in front of me, Jen was standing up, her headphones still in as she hoisted her bag over one shoulder.

We were in Tennessee for a soccer tournament. The Hellcats had won in their division and had been invited to a tournament...