Good article about NHLers getting their degrees. Love to see that.
Back to school: NHLers past and present show it's never too late to pursue college degree
Especially love this from Backes:
Ducks forward David Backes also went back to school. He left Minnesota State in 2006 still proud of his 4.0-grade-point average in electrical engineering. Backes told his mother he’d eventually finish and took advantage of the 2012-13 NHL lockout to resume his classwork.
He switched majors to applied organizational studies and nonprofit leadership. Part of the reason was that it fit well with the charity that he and his wife, Katie, started, Athletes for Animals, a foundation filled with pro athletes with a shared passion for rescuing and protecting the welfare of homeless pets.
Backes even got class credits for his work in CBA negotiations. He did a couple of classes per semester during the lockout and then another class and independent study during the season.
“We had weekly assignments that weren’t a hard deadline, so I was able to do most of it either reading on the plane or filling my time in the road hotel,” Backes said. “You know, those dead times where a lot of it often gets filled up watching TV.”
Did any of his teammates ever rib him about hitting the books?
“Well, I’m not ashamed of being a nerd,” Backes said. “So rib me all you want. But before that, it was working on my pilot’s license. It’s about me continuing to learn and stimulating my mind. I think a lot of other guys that leave school early look at it saying, ‘I need to do that.’ But do they have the initiative? I think the first step in that getting back to the swing of things is definitely the hardest.”
Backes said the NHLPA has a continuing education plan that will help players find their own tailored approach. They encourage players to think of their development off the ice, and have experts available to assist them.
“I’ve been telling guys, ‘Now is the time to go back,’” Backes said.
