Vincenzo Pagano - Autobiography

[Oatex 235]

Early Childhood [172 Words]

Vincenzo Pagano was a Italian born baby, coming into the world at 23 inches and 10 pounds. To say the least, Vincenzo has always been a big boy. Being in Italy at a young age was tough on Vincenzo, with his family having Mafia ties, not a lot of hockey around, and not a lot of popularity for hockey. Nonetheless, Vincenzo had his future planned out for him, as his Grandpa was in the VHL for 7 seasons, and lived the dream. Vincenzo lived in a high income household, and when he was about 7 years old, he watched his first ever hockey game. A few weeks later, he asked his father to install an ice rink into his backyard. From there, it was history. Everyday, a young Vincenzo was out on the ice, practicing, grinding, persevering, and giving the game all he had. He wanted to be just like his grandpa, and wanted to prove to his father that putting in this ice rink wasn't a waste of their family's money.

 

Teen Years [212 Words]

When Vincenzo was 13, he was trying to find a high school in Italy, which allowed him to play Hockey. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to find a place to play his beloved game, so he had to put his VHL dreams on hold. He got a job and saved up every penny of every paycheck he got, in order to pay for a plane ticket to Canada, where he could continue to pursue his dream of playing in the VHL like his Grandpa. After around 2 years of working, Vincenzo turned 15 years old, and had saved up enough money to get a plane ticket to Canada, and provide himself with food and shelter for a couple of months. At this point, Vincenzo was all in on his dream; it was go pro or die trying for him. When Vincenzo got to Canada, he once again, searched for schools for him to play hockey at. Of course, there was an abundance of options. Vincenzo went to tryouts for three to four teams before he was finally accepted into a high school located in the heart of Quebec. He would pick up his VHL dreams again, and continue to grind until he was guaranteed the starting goaltending spot on his high school team.  

 

High School Career [257 Words]

In his Freshman year, Vincenzo played JV hockey at his school, and had an ELITE season. He broke JV records having a .955 SV% and 1.12 GAA stat line in his first season! His coaches knew he was ready to be pulled up to the Varsity team, and that's exactly what happened. Going into his Sophomore season, he was 16 and was coming off a mediocre ankle injury from his job. He had trouble recovering from this injury, and only had a .845 SV% and 3.85 GAA in his Sophomore season, on Varsity. This got to Vincenzo, and he was considering hanging up the skates. He was planning on giving up, until he remembered the grind he had when he was a kid in his backyard, and didn't want to disappoint a young Vincenzo who had VHL dreams. He decided to give it one more year, and if it went well, he would keep playing. Going into his Junior season at 17 years old, he PERFORMED. He had a .960 SV%, 1.05 GAA, and lost the league Championship to the best team in the tournament. He decided to play out his senior year, before trying out for a VHLM team. His senior year was HISTORIC at his school, to say the least. Vincenzo only allowed 26 goals in his 82 game season. He had a .989 SV% .317 GAA, won the championship, and was invited to numerous amounts of showcase events. For once in his career, it looked like Vincenzo had a good shot at going pro.

 

Where I am Now [193 Words]

After his High School career, Vincenzo tried out for the Mississauga Hounds, San Diego Marlins, and Houston Bulls. All three teams denied him. Vincenzo was losing hope again, but after a tryout with the Mexico City Kings, he found a home. They offered him backup minutes behind second year goalie, Jose Avocado. He was joyful to accept the deal, and was completely fine with being a backup, as he knew he would slowly grind into the starting spot. The Kings were a top 5 team in the league, so he was glad to be giving valuable time to such a good team. Currently, Vincenzo has a .861 SV% and a 4.11 GAA. As always, Vincenzo will continue to grind until he reaches the VHLE, and then the process will repeat. Vincenzo will never back down, and will continue to grind through his pain until he's on top of the world. Vincenzo made 1.5 Million US Dollars so far with the Kings, and has moved his whole family from Italy to Mexico City to come support him. The journey has just started for Vincenzo, and I don't plan to end it soon. Go Kings. 

 

Total Words: 834