Lynes experiences trip of a lifetime midway through Men's Hockey season

Story written for January 31 Game Program

In the life of an NCAA Division III student-athlete, players are sometimes forced to miss practices or even games for academic-related events. Sometimes job interviews when graduate school come along, other times it could be an exam or lab that can't be missed.

Concordia University Wisconsin junior defenseman Trammell Lynes received an opportunity he couldn't pass up, which forced one of those times where a student-athlete has to leave their team for a while. Lynes recently took a trip overseas to Spain and Greece for his religion elective, a trip that forced him to miss time with his teammates from January 1-20.

"The trip was a study abroad to fulfill a religion elective," Lynes said explaining the details of his experience. "It was originally going to be a trip to Greece for 10 days, but we figured since we were buying the plane tickets, a few of us went to Spain for 10 days as well."

Of course this was an opportunity the Edmonton, Alberta native couldn't pass up, to spend 20 days learning about other cultures and gaining experiences he would remember for the rest of the his life. Lynes said the trip certainly opened his eyes up to many things.

"It really opens you up to other cultures and other parts of the world," Lynes said. "You're not in the bubble of Concordia Wisconsin anymore and some of the things were amazing to see, especially in Greece because of the troubles they are having with their economy."

For Lynes, the most difficult part of the making the trip was leaving his team in the middle of the season. When he left for Spain on January 1, his team was just finishing a month-long break from games, was on a four-game winning streak and would push that streak to five January 7 against Aurora University. No time during the season is it easy to leave your teammates, especially when the team was playing some of its best hockey.

"That was the hardest part of the trip," Lynes said about having to leave his Falcon teammates. "Before I signed up and put the deposit down I made sure I talked to the guys. Everyone was really supportive, but it was tough leaving the guys."

With the support and his encouragement from his teammates, Lynes was able to make the trip, one he will never forget. It's part of the balance as a student-athlete and it's one he seems to balance well. After all Lynes is a jack of all trades type of student who you can find doing several different things on campus.

Show up to another CUW sporting event and you'll probably see Lynes with his camera capturing shots for CUWFalcons.com. Or if you went to the CUW Theatre production of The Great Gatsby this season you would have noticed Lynes in the lead role. He also serves as an RA in one of the residential halls and of course there are the many hours put into his first job, being a student.

"I think the biggest thing is focusing on one thing at a time," Lynes said. "You need to be good at time management and spending enough time on the things that are important and doing them efficiently."

And as always, the other commitment Lynes has at Concordia University Wisconsin is as an enforcer on the hockey team. His teammates surely missed his production on the ice, but he returns for the stretch run, as the Falcons need a strong finish for hopes of playing in the NCHA Tournament.

Still, no matter the results on the ice, Lynes has certainly made an impact as a student-athlete at CUW. The Falcon junior has a life-changing trip with many wonderful experiences that he can draw upon as his future endeavors.