Agosta knows all about sacrifice
TEAM CANADA: Vancouver police officer brings unique traits to national program
TPLYMOUTH, Mich. he stabbings are really what sealed the deal.
Sure, Meghan Agosta always knew she wanted to be a cop. As a kid, she would hear sirens and “be curious to know what was happening.” But two years ago, it became more than just a childlike fantasy when she was invited on a ridealong.
For wannabe cops, this is often the moment of truth. Agosta was taken to the Downtown Eastside in Vancouver — an area notorious for its drug and sex trade, homelessness and mental illness — for an overnight shift. If she had any doubts about what it really meant to be a cop, they would surface here.
“We had two stabbings that night,” Agosta said. “It definitely was an eye-opener.”
The experience might have scared away other potential candidates. But three months later, Agosta officially became a sworn member of the Vancouver Police Department. That she is still a member of Canada’s national women’s hockey team — a juggling act few other players can appreciate — might give new meaning to the term “on-ice policeman.”
Agosta is technically on vacation leave this week as she participates in the women’s world hockey championship. When the tournament is over, she goes back to shift work as a police officer, squeezing in hockey games whenever she can.
“I don’t go on vacation,” said Agosta, who hails from Ruthven, Ont. “All my annual leave goes to Hockey Canada. And when all my annual leave is up, I leave without pay. But that’s a sacrifice that I’m willing to make. Come May, if I’m one of the 27, 28 girls to get centralized (for the Olympics), I’m going to take a leave of absence. I have the support from the chief all the way down.”
Agosta was worried she would have to make a choice between hockey and policing. While she always figured she would eventually work as a cop — she chose to attend Mercyhurst University for the sole reason that it had the best criminal justice program — she didn’t think it would happen so soon.
Once the opportunity to become a police officer presented itself, she couldn’t afford to say no. But with a goal of winning a fourth Olympic gold medal in 2018, she also didn’t want to hang up her skates.
“My biggest fear was going to Mel (Davidson, the women’s national team general manager) and saying I needed a year off to pursue my career and her saying I had to choose one or the other,” said Agosta, 30.
“I didn’t want to give up hockey, because I know there’s so much more I have to give and can help Canada be successful.”
Though other players have jobs, being a police officer brings with it different challenges, especially with where Agosta works.
There are no professional women’s teams in British Columbia. Even if there were, Agosta’s schedule makes committing to a league pretty difficult. She works in shifts, rotating four days on and four days off, either in the morning, afternoon, night or overnight.
As a result, Agosta has had to find ice time whenever she can. Sometimes she plays in a senior men’s league — “it’s not really beer league hockey,” she said, smiling — or practices with a triple-A boys team. Most often, she simply grabs her gear and plays shinny.
“I had to prove to Hockey Canada that I’m still a go-to player,” said Agosta, who was named the tournament MVP at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver.
“I would never make any excuses for anything. I take a lot of pride in that, because it is a challenge. To have two years under my belt in my career and still be playing the game I’ve loved since I was a little girl is an unbelievable accomplishment.”
If anything, Agosta believes being a cop has made her a better hockey player and vice versa. She might not be an enforcer, and she is probably the last person on the team you would guess is a cop, but she is someone whose leadership skills are valued.
“She’s tough, for sure,” head coach Laura Schuler said. “She’s always kind of been that mother figure, where she takes the rookies under her wing. She’s such a good person, she makes everybody feel important.”
There are parallels between her two passions.
“Both careers, the biggest thing is teamwork,” Agosta said. “In policing, you go into situations together. With hockey, it’s leadership. Being the oldest vet here, it’s bringing that leadership here. I take pride in it. It’s fun to be able to come here and take my mind off work and do something that I absolutely love.”
Being a police officer is not just any job. There are risks involved, risks Agosta said she does not take lightly.
When asked if she’s had to use her firearm, Agosta stops smiling and takes a breath before answering.
“I’m not going to say that I have or I haven’t,” she said. “But if you’re asking if I’ve pulled my gun out, well, for instance I went on a gun call and if you’re out on a gun call of course you’re going to pull out your gun and assess the situation. Policing is a very dangerous career and I’m basically putting my life on the line every day.
“That’s why I don’t take anything for granted when I come here.”