After this past weekends Pre Draft Combine, and talking to many of the parents and players attending, many asked me the same question;
“Why did you become an adviser?” Its a pretty simple question that’s not so simple to answer.
The truth of “why” I became an adviser is different from why I continue to be and truly love being an adviser.
I actually became an adviser because I became disenchanted with being an Agent for Professional players. That’s not to say I didn’t like my clients, but relates more to the general state of the pro hockey business. There are only so many times you can go into a negotiation and argue with a team over a hundred dollar a week raise for your client before you get tired of nickel and dime operations saying no.
It was roughly seven years ago our company began a complete transition to being an adviser service only. While we still take the occasional pro player, it is definitely more fun to work with Amateur, Junior, and NCAA players.
Why is it more fun? That answer is simple. Each and every player is still trying to achieve something that is more important than money. And that something is simply getting to the next level and a new sense of accomplishment.
Since making this switch, I get to win a championship every year. Each and every year one of my clients wins a championship and I get to go along for the ride.
Each and every year I help players get to new levels of play. I get to watch them reach goals that most of the time they felt were beyond their reach before I began working with them.
And for the last several years I get to watch each and every one of my clients who wants to play NCAA hockey move on to play NCAA hockey.
There’s no better feeling than seeing a young man reach the goal they set out for themselves when they were probably ten years old. Its a great feeling to see the parents smile when their son or daughter puts on their first NCAA game sweater.
Its not an easy job. Fifty thousand miles a year on my car, another hundred thousand frequent flier miles, nights away from home, and freezing your ass off in a rink for up to 16 hours in a day at a showcase takes its toll. But I wouldn’t trade my job for anything.
For those I didn’t get to speak to this weekend, that’s your abridged version of an answer. I wish each and every one of you success in reaching the highest level of competition possible.
Joseph Kolodziej – Publisher
