Student Profiles

Teaming Hockey and Psychology Provides Student Recipe for Success

“The only difference between where you are now and where you want to be is what you are willing to do to get there.” Psychology major and varsity hockey player Michael Kostka ’08 keeps this quote on his desk. “It keeps me driven,” he says. Its effects must be powerful because despite the demands of balancing hockey with schoolwork and maintaining “some sort of social life,” he is managing to excel in all aspects of his undergraduate education in the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences at UMass Amherst.

Kostka hails from Ajax, Canada, about forty minutes east of Toronto. “Growing up,” he says, “hockey, school and family were the most important things in my life. I have been playing competitively since I was four years old. My parents have been unbelievably supportive and helpful. My older sister Jessica has always been there to help guide me in the right direction.” When he was seventeen, a UMass Amherst assistant hockey coach scouted him and invited Kostka to visit the campus. “I was impressed with what I saw—and ecstatic with the scholarship offer. I committed soon thereafter, even though the coaches and I agreed that another year of development playing junior hockey would be useful.” He enrolled part-time at York University and came to Amherst equipped with some academic tools that he thought would be useful for his planned business major.

Kostka did really well in his business courses, finishing the year with a 3.3 GPA but he didn’t enjoy the classes. In the meantime he discovered an affinity for psychology. “Professor (Richard) Halgin is close to our team and has been really helpful to me during the past year and a half. I spoke at length with him about my interests, especially in how the brain works when it comes to sports. And I’ve found that learning about sport psychology actually allows me to help myself when I compete.”

“My academic experience has been great, but challenging,” Kostka says. “Being part of a sport that requires a lot of dedication helps me stay on top of my work. Hockey practice takes place Monday-Thursday from 3 to 5, and the team has off-ice workouts in the gym Mondays and Wednesdays. “I have to be done with all of my classes by 2:15 so that I can get to the rink. That leaves me with the nighttime to complete my homework. When that’s done I usually have a couple of hours before bed to balance time between my friends and girlfriend, as well as trying to learn a few things on my guitar. Since my time is restricted, I am very disciplined.”

Kostka’s dream is to play NHL hockey. “That may be a lofty goal,” he acknowledges, “but it drives me constantly to get better. But regardless of how my hockey career pans out, I know that I will not play forever. That’s why I’m looking toward getting a PhD in sport psychology. I think it would be amazing to work with players of all sports and help them attain their highest potential by breaking through the mental barriers all athletes face.”

March 8, 2006