Reyes grew up in a single-parent household, the oldest of three siblings. Reyes, it seems, has been erasing deficits her entire life. She neglects to acknowledge the manner in which those come-from-behind wins fit the pattern developing throughout the conversation. In the retelling, Reyes credits her captain, her teammates and her coaches for the comebacks. In each case, they rallied, taking the championship trophy after trailing by two goals against Penn State in the final game. In the tournament, the Golden Rams didn't make it easy, dropping into deep first-period holes in the semifinal and final. Last winter, her West Chester Golden Rams lifted the Division 2 American Collegiate Hockey Association National Championship, the first in team history. The conversation turns to one of Reyes' defining moments. Quickly, though, Reyes brushes her springy curls back from her face and resumes her measured, thoughtful tone, diving into how she adjusted to the college lifestyle and the pride she felt at being named captain of her women's' club ice hockey team for her senior season. She has the look of a woman in control, which makes the subtle slip in her concentration surprising. Reyes, 21, is tall, lithe and dressed athlete-casual in a West Chester Dri-FIT shirt, thermal black Nike tights, and running shoes. "I'm just … I'm just noticing now how much effort it took not to give up," she said. Now, though, caught in the part between her graduation from high school and her college years, her train of thought stalls as a flash of realization crosses her face. It's a gripping tale, and Reyes is a capable storyteller.
Her narrative has unraveled during the course of nearly an hour when Reyes, in a quiet, confident voice, has held forth on the circumstances of her remarkable evolution. She is in the middle of telling her life story when she pauses. Virlen Reyes is sitting at a two-top at a Starbucks on the quad of West Chester University, where she is a senior.
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