PlayYourGame.com - Starting Early

      Starting Early
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Introduction
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      Introduction
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Now, I'm sure you've heard it all before, but your education is essential to your success. Focussing on your education goes hand in hand with developing your hockey career, and starting early will prepare you for the intensity of playing junior, university, and professional hockey. When should you begin to buckle down? The truth is Grade 9. The study skills you start to build in Grade 9 will shine through when you begin to play junior and then later when you may be playing hockey at university or college. For some of you, Grade 9 or maybe even high school may be a thing of the past. That's ok, it is never too late to start focussing on your studies. It only gets harder as you get older. Developing study skills and relearning certain aspects of your education are daunting tasks as a student athlete attending university. Prevent this stress. Start early.

      Starting early doesn't only make it easier for you down the road, but it may also mean the difference between landing that Division I scholarship or not. The days of being greased in to a school are over. There are too many quality players with the education to match. Competition for scholarships has never been more intense. To put it in perspective, there are schools at the low end of the academic scale (Although the truth is, these schools are becoming more and more difficult to get into.) straight through to the Harvard's of the world offering hockey scholarships. If you are in the bottom 25% academically of all those vying for scholarship spots, then you are competing against 100% of the pack for only the lower end of the schools. Your choices are the least, and your competition is the most. On the flip side, if you are of high academic standing, you can choose from any school, and for many of those schools, you are facing less and less competition. And if that isn't motivation enough, many schools go back as far as Grade 9 when evaluating your application.

      So, start early. Developing good study habits will help you not only make the grade but also help you stay organized when you do need to balance school and hockey. Staying organized was one of the keys to Eric Lindros' early success. While playing junior and attending high school, Eric used an agenda religiously to keep himself focused. Staying organized will be crucial to your success too. For those of you hoping to combine your hockey with school, staying organized will be your biggest challenge. If you develop your study habits and organizational skills early, moving to the next step, athletically or academically, will be a breeze.

      We hear it from our parents, and often, we forget it. We hear it from teachers, and we pass it off as "it's only high school". Now, hear it from us. Just like you have to work in hockey, you have to work in school. For some, it will come easy. For many of us, it will not. Create the habits now, and by doing so, afford yourself the chance to play at the next level. You don't want to have your letter of intent in hand and hear back that you haven't made it through the Clearing House. A good SAT mark isn't enough anymore. Grades are essential. There are too many high quality student athletes who want your opportunity of a lifetime. We're not your parents. We're not your teachers. We're hockey players who've seen too many quality players fall short due to poor grades. Put forth the effort, and you'll be glad you did.