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.
鈥淎 week before he passed, he said, 鈥業 know you can make Team Canada,鈥欌�� said Jessica. 鈥淚 knew I should do it, because it鈥檚 what he鈥檇 want me to do.鈥�
Nineteen years ago
In order to understand the relationship between Geoff and his daughter, it鈥檚 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 鈥� but he got baby Jessica.
鈥淲hen they had a second girl, he was like, 鈥極h! Great! A second girl!,鈥� said family friend Mimi Appelbe.
Geoff already had a daughter, and he wasn鈥檛 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. It鈥檚 something family and friends laugh about. They know what happened.
As the daughters grew up, a strange event kept repeating itself.
鈥淭hey鈥檇 sit together on the couch and watch (rugby) games,鈥� said Geoff鈥檚 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. They鈥檇 be asking him all about what鈥檚 going on, and he鈥檇 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.
鈥淗e just jumped right on (as coach),鈥� said Appelbe. 鈥淗e was so committed to making it work.鈥�
But there was one thing that Geoff would not compromise on.
鈥淭he first practice, they were like, 鈥楧ad, can you be a bit nicer?,鈥� and he was like, 鈥楴ope,鈥欌�� said Erin. She laughs.
鈥�(He) was a tough coach with a soft heart.鈥�
Under dad鈥檚 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, 鈥渓iving my dream.鈥�
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, he鈥檇 be there with her in Ottawa, too, at the games.
鈥淗e forwarded me the email because he was like, just over the moon,鈥� said Appelbe. 鈥淲hich makes it even more heartbreaking, that, he didn鈥檛 get to see her play.鈥�
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:
鈥淣ever underestimate the power of a strong female rugby player,鈥� was the last message he sent to his girls鈥� team at Mark Isfeld.
Jessica鈥檚 succession
Jessica was stricken by her father鈥檚 death. But something occurred to her while she was mourning, and almost dropped out of the competition.
鈥淎 week before he passed, he said, 鈥業 know you can make Team Canada,鈥欌�� she said. 鈥淢y dad is the reason I started playing rugby. I knew I should do it, because it鈥檚 what he鈥檇 want me to do.鈥�
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.
鈥淪he was so stoic,鈥� said her mother Erin. 鈥淚t was so f鈥⑩�ing hard鈥� She kept looking for him on the field.鈥�
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 Canada鈥檚 under-20 women鈥檚 team.
Dad鈥檚 video
When the day came for Jessica鈥檚 first game, her father had been gone for over a month. But he came back for one last appearance, in a shocking way.
鈥淥n the plane, her mom found a video that (Geoff) made last year,鈥� said Appelbe. 鈥淚t was all about, just that, how proud he was of her.鈥�
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 father鈥檚 video as she sat in Ottawa, preparing to play her first game.
鈥淗ey Jessica, dad here. Just wanted to let you know in a little video鈥� I just want to tell you I鈥檓 so proud of you for your (high school) graduation today. I love you so much.
鈥淵ou鈥檙e going to go on to be a very successful woman. Some day, maybe you鈥檒l look back at the video and say, 鈥榃ow, I didn鈥檛 think I鈥檇 be that successful.鈥� But you will be.鈥�
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. She鈥檚 playing rugby on full scholarship at Central Washington University, and studying to be a high school teacher.
鈥淚鈥檇 love to come back here (to Comox) and coach rugby like my dad did,鈥� she said. 鈥淥r be a counsellor in the Valley or somewhere in B.C.鈥�
Jessica Postle said she鈥檚 thankful for all the time she had with her father before he died, to help her become the woman she is today.
