Balancing sports and education

Justin Seward
Times Reporter

 

Athletes take many different paths in their careers. Very few succeed in their sport past the junior level, and many do not know what to do after sports is over.
Tom McEvay is well known to many sporting organization in North America for his expertise in education consulting in sport.
McEvay held a seminar to provide some insight to the Wheatland Kings about how to conduct oneself as a player while considering their options after hockey.
“First off, it’s not uncommon for people to wonder what educational advisors do, people hear about family advisors, agents and that’s not what I’m doing. My background is in hockey but also in education,” said McEvay.
“I just retired as a principal after 25 years and when we got our Junior A franchise, the Port Alberni Bulldogs about 12 years ago, the ownership group approached me and said ‘Tom, we want to build this franchise around the right reasons,’ ” said McEvay. “We want to create an opportunity for young men to come to our community, grow as human beings, be able to move forward in hockey but more importantly to move forward in lives. I started working at that as a volunteer and will continue do it as a volunteer.”
After retiring from the education system, McEvay experienced a high demand for the knowledge in educational consulting that he had gained over the last 12 years.
“What I experienced over the last 12 years was a tremendous demand for the information and expertise that I had developed myself,” said McEvay.
“I work in the whole field of this is wherever you’re at as a young player and as a student, or maybe you’re a 20-year-old Junior B player who’s coming to the end of their career that way and wondering what the options are for them.”
McEvay looks at the bigger scheme of things and makes recommendation from the player’s education and playing background.
“I look at the big picture of where they’re at educationally, what have they done, if there is something we can change, we will and I will advise it,” said McEvay. “I provide information about the opportunities that are out there to combine hockey and education. I provide the realities how to get there in terms of what you need academically.
“More importantly I talk about that hockey is a passion you have but it shouldn’t define you as a human being. The moment you step away from that and love the game for the game but understand at one time or another the huge competitive side ends for us.”
He does not convey his message any differently to the leagues as the emphasis of planning your future will always be the main concept.
“That’s the essence, whether I’m talking to bantams, midgets, Junior A and B, to me it’s always the big picture. The big picture is who are you as a human being, where are you at in your development in life and hockey-wise and how does this all work together,” said McEvay.
The factors that the players should be aware of are the financial realities, the misconceptions about how this happens and the pitfalls that happen in hockey.
“I hope if there is one young man tonight who triggers on something says ‘I remember Tom talking about this’ or generates them to look at the game differently and to look at themselves differently, then I’ve accomplished something,” said McEvay.