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 have 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. Back to School By Paul Buczkowski October 27, 2002 I am now officially retired at the ripe old age of 27 and have been asked by many family, friends and acquaintances "Why?". Probably one of the biggest reasons was that I was not enjoying going to the rink like I used to. I used to go to the rink all "fired up" every single day, wanting to practice and especially play. I played as hard as I could and as best as I could every day I was at a hockey rink. Since I had a fairly significant injury last year, it has opened my eyes to new possibilities. I have decided to go back to school. I am 27 years old and have a lot of life experience thanks to my hockey career. I have met perhaps thousands of people and have made a lot of great friends. When you decide to go back to school, you can throw all that out the window. It has been a long time since I sat behind a desk in a lecture hall and listened to a professor teach about "absolute" links in html. The idea of walking into a class with 260 students actually scared me. Sure I have been taking regular correspondence classes, but that first day of classes after a period of seven years was a huge change for me. While playing professional hockey, I was used to going up to the front of the classroom to teach kids about the effects of drugs and alcohol or for "pep" talks to keep kids in school. Now, it is time to practice what I preached. After the first couple of weeks went by, I started to feel more comfortable. I started to get that desire to learn again. It is like that feeling like I used to get going to the rink. I am now getting that feeling going to school. I encourage all of those players who are thinking of dropping out of school to get back behind that desk and learn. I have been fortunate enough to have been able to put away a nest egg just in case I decided to go back to school, and I realized that hockey would eventually end. You don't want to end up being a 30 year old with absolutely nowhere to go. Take an online class or a correspondence course while you play. Remember, hockey is a phase and at one point in time you will have to move on. Get educated now. If you happen to make it to the NHL, just consider yourself lucky that you just happened to be working on that commerce degree. You will be able to count your own money. I am not telling you to go the College route and stay out of the WHL, or vice versa. I am just telling you that it is important to keep your mind active, because you will have to use it not only for anticipating where the puck will be next, but for life after hockey and maybe the possibility of owning and running your own business. Here is my quote for the month: "Hockey is just like golf. 90% of it is mental, and the other 10% is mental." - Unknown Paul Buczkowski 1 Year CHL 2 Years ECHL 3 Years Europe 6 Years WHL
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