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 Patrick Powers as a feature writer. From the CIS to the CHL, Pat will bring insight to every aspect of the game, as a sport and as a career. Is Hockey Just a Sport? By Patrick Powers When people approach me and ask what I do for a living, I say, "I'm a professional hockey player". These people usually have one of two responses. They are either envious, or they are full of pity/laughter. We will return to this topic later. I am going to start this article off with a short story of myself and how I got to where I am now. I think you will find it interesting, and I think you will find this story very similar to that of many hockey players nowadays. I was a young kid who loved hockey, not uncommon, yet I was not very good growing up. I was a tall, yet bulky kid who was not the "prototypical hockey player". I played hockey from the time I was four years of age, and come the time you are 15/16, if you are not the superstar, you seem to have hit the end of the road so to speak. Well, my junior age draft year came, and I had a slim opportunity to reach the junior ranks until I was released from the Strathroy Blades of the Southwestern Junior "B" League. My dream of making it to the NHL seemed to have come to an end. I decided the following year that I would try out one more time and this time made the Petrolia Jets of the same league. I played for the Jets for two years and excelled for two years - my final year earning all-star honors and our team making it to the Ontario finals. During this year, I received an offer to go and play varsity hockey at St. Thomas University (STU) in Fredericton N.B Canada. I decided that it would be in my best interest to go earn my degree as I had always done fairly well at school. Over the next five years, I played at a high level of hockey, earned my Bachelor of Arts degree, a high-school teaching degree, and, most importantly, met some great people and had the time of my life. While at STU, I continued to improve my skill level in a top-notch program. At the end of my fifth year of varsity hockey, I received offers to not only teach, but to play professional hockey. I realize that it isn't the NHL, but it's still professional hockey nonetheless. To the date of this article, I have played three years of professional hockey between Tupelo, Mississippi and Shreveport, Louisiana. I am currently employed as a hockey director at the Fredericksburg Ice Park in Fredericksburg, VA. The purpose of this article is not to say that hockey is for everyone, but that hockey is a life lesson that can lead in many directions. If someone would have told me that when I was a kid that I would be living in Virginia, working in hockey, and turning down offers to continue to play hockey, I never would have believed them. Hockey can open many doors, many that people may never realize. If you look at my individual path you will see that hockey gave me many things: athleticism, two college degrees, allowed me to travel across Canada and the US, meet contacts for the future, a job, fulfilled a dream of playing pro hockey, and most importantly, it gave me friends that will never be forgotten. I feel that playing not only hockey but also athletics in general is as important as a regular education. Hockey will teach you the lessons that are important in everyday life. Throughout my hockey career, I have learned respect, hardwork, dedication, teamwork, among many other important qualities. Hockey has been an education for me, and every other hockey player I have been around. Don't get me wrong, I am not down playing my education in school. But together it makes a better-rounded person. My school education is what allowed me to reach my hockey goals, but together, they are what made me the person I am today. The doors that were shut on me by hockey were reopened to me via school, and for that I am forever grateful. So to answer the question that began the article, "Is hockey just a sport?", well, if so, then I have been playing a game my entire life, a game that has supported me, taught me, opened doors for me, introduced me to people, and most importantly gave me enjoyment. My hockey past has created an educated future! Patrick Powers 3 years Professional 5 years CIAU
a project © 1999 DavidSport Inc. All Rights Reserved. Disclaimer