PAUL BUCZKOWSKI       Bio       Setting Goals       Respect       Back to School       Professionalism       Those in the know       Turn It Positive       Finding a Job       Eye Protection       Playing Injured       Gearing Up       WCHL vs. CHL       Europe v. N.A.       Specific Training       Training Camps       Road to Success       Dedication       Life in the WHL SANDY LAMARRE       Bio       Season to Forget       College vs. Junior       Sportsmanship       Game Prep       Conditioning FORBES MACPHERSON       Making the Jump BRIAN PATAFIE       Bio       Stretching       ICE PATRICK POWERS       Is Hockey Just a Sport? ANDREW ZOPPO       Be Tenacious
	PlayYourGame.com is proud to welcome Paul Buczkowski as a feature writer. From the WHL to the NHL, Paul will bring insight to every aspect of the game, as a sport and as a career. Turn It Positive By Paul Buczkowski September 12, 2001 This is my sixth year of playing professional hockey, and I have loved every single year that I have played the game. I am now 26 years old and an experienced veteran and have seen a lot of things that most players have not. I have seen the excitement of players getting drafted to the NHL and players who have not. I have seen the disappointment on player's faces of not making it to the next level. I have seen the anger of coaches in times of agony and the feelings of invincibility at others. I have been on losing hockey teams, winning hockey teams, championship hockey teams and hockey teams that have come up short. I have been on teams with "team" guys, "selfish" guys, and inexperienced coaches. I have seen the ability of the Europeans and have played for team Canada and All-Star Teams. I have been treated fairly and unfairly, but the major lesson of this article is that every year I had the opportunity to improve and learn something new that would help me somewhere down the line in hockey and in life. I have talked with hockey players ending their careers, and it seems that they are not happy with what they are doing. They have lost that fire in their gut to compete every night as hard as they can. They are simply not motivated enough to learn or possibly teach a younger player the ropes. This is very important in the success of not only a hockey player but that of a successful person in any field. Once you lose that subjective way of thinking, things start to fall apart. I have learned throughout the years that you must be very optimistic in this game even if all seems the impossible. As an athlete, you must be able to take something that you have seen and get the most out of it. Even if a player is selfish and seems to be in the limelight all the time, you must be able to take that negative and use it as an example of what NOT to be like. If a coach reams you out because of a mistake you have made, you have to turn it into a positive and work harder or smarter to improve. If you think it is right, DO IT!! Ninety-nine percent of the time things are not aimed at you personally but of the action that you have done. If you make that AAA team or you are cut from a tryout, remember that, just like school, you are programmed to think about the "solution" and not the "problem". Here are my quotes for the month: "There's always the motivation of wanting to win. Everybody has that. But a champion needs, in his or her attitude, a motivation above and beyond winning." - Pat Riley "Now when I lose a match, I know I lose on the court - not in life." - Gabriela Sabatini Paul Buczkowski 1 Year CHL 1 Year ECHL 3 Years Europe 6 Years WHL
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