Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2004 | 9:53 a.m.
Most athletes would readily admit that sport is their dream job. Even at the minor-league level, the money's good enough and dreams big enough to keep players in the game as long as their talent and body will keep them there.
But in the backs of all their minds, they know the odds are against them. And the smart ones have plans in place for work after the game has passed them by.
Two Las Vegas Wranglers spent last summer preparing for their future outside the game. Center Jeff Attard studied firefighting in Alberta, and winger Tom Nelson went through the police academy in Wisconsin. Both said they were simply getting ready for something to do after the game's up for them.
Call it a hockey retirement plan.
"I can't be playing hockey forever," Nelson said.
Nelson studied information technology in his four years at the University of Minnesota at Duluth. But he said he always wanted to get involved in law enforcement, so he went to the academy at Appleton, Wis., over the summer. At the time, Nelson was already considering retirement following a rough season with Double-A Florida.
"I always wanted to do something in the FBI and law enforcement," Nelson said. So after graduating from the police academy, Nelson took and passed the first FBI test for special agents. He interviews for the second phase during the all-star break.
Attard also started out in law enforcement, studying criminology and psychology in his three years of college. But he said a bad experience working as a security guard steered him toward a different mode of public service.
"Firefighting looked like a great option, so I thought I'd try it out. That stuff didn't scare me," he said. "There's a lot of firemen that come from hockey. I'm thinking ahead for the future, and it's the same type of role. A lot of manual labor, kind of like this."
Attard got a global certification for firefighting at the academy in Vermillion, Alberta. While at the academy, his pants caught fire in a minor mishap, and his roommate almost set their kitchen ablaze with some cooking ineptness.
"My roommate couldn't cook so well," Attard said. "He was heating a pot before putting the oil in it," and when the oil went in, flames shot up to the top of the stove.
He said that he plans on taking EMT certification after this season ends.
Where Attard finds that hockey has a lot in common with firefighting, Nelson said he learned a little about hockey while training at the police academy.
"It was all new to me," Nelson said. "Just the grind, going eight to nine hours a day taught me a lot about discipline and overcoming adversity."
The Wranglers will need a bit of Nelson's toughness tonight, as they play host to the Alaska Aces at the Orleans Arena. Alaska and Las Vegas are tied for second place in the ECHL's Pacific Division, but the Wranglers have won three of their four meetings with the Aces this year. Idaho is in first place with 50 points, three ahead of Las Vegas and Alaska.
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