It isn’t always easy for professional athletes to return to a normal life after their playing careers end.

They become accustomed to the limelight, the lifestyle and, of course, the money.

It can be daunting.

That’s especially true if they don’t have anything to fall back on, like a college degree.

Former University of Maine winger Bob Corkum found himself in that predicament after his 12-year, 720-game National Hockey League career ended in 2002.

Corkum said the first six to eight months were “great” as he had the opportunity to get reacquainted with his family.

Then reality set in.

“The transition was very difficult. I got to the point where I said to myself ‘What’s next?”,” said the 37-year-old Corkum. “I had been playing hockey for 20 years. It was such a big part of my life. I didn’t know how to contribute to society. Depression and confusion set in.”

He had hockey burnout. He had no interest in the sport for two years.

Corkum, who earned a reputation as a top-notch checker and one of the NHL’s best faceoff men, made $850,000 in his most profitable financial season and the money he made as a pro efficiently supported wife Jessica and their four children.

“The money was nice but it didn’t bring happiness [after I retired]. You still want to get up each day and do something worthwhile,” said Corkum, who notched 200 points between seven different teams.

He eventually landed a sports marketing job and, more importantly, he decided to fulfill a promise.

“I always promised myself, my mother [Peggy] and coach [the late Shawn] Walsh I would get my degree. Every time I would see coach Walsh, the first thing he would say is ‘You’re coming back to get your degree.'”

He reintroduced himself to academia 13 months ago by taking a May term class at the University of Maine. He had been out of school for 15 years. It was Physiology of Exercise and he said he was the “oldest person in the class.”

“It was a tough one. There was a lot of terminology,” said Corkum, who lives with his family in Newburyport, Mass.

He has continued to work toward his degree in education, taking another May term class last month. He is scheduled to take two more eight-week classes later this summer through correspondence and he will finish his degree by taking a May term class next year.

“We’re proud of him. It isn’t easy to go back,” said wife Jessica, a Colby College graduate who earned her master’s degree in education from Gordon College (Mass.) three weeks ago.

Corkum also decided a couple of years ago that he missed the game.

“It was something I knew very well and was passionate about,” said Corkum. “I would eventually like to coach at the college level but you need a degree to do that.”

After leaving the sports marketing firm, he began coaching hockey at the high school level.

He was a volunteer assistant at his alma mater, Triton Regional High School, in Salisbury, Mass., and was an assistant last year at Newburyport High where he coached his son, Kellen.

He was recently named the director of player development for the Portland Junior Pirates hockey program and he will be the head coach of the Junior B team (18 years old and under) this season. Son Kellen will be on the team as will former Orono High star John Tuell.

And one of the messages he will stress to his players: “It’s important to get your degree.”

Larry Mahoney can be reached at 990-8231, 1-800-310-8600 or at lmmahoney@bangordailynews.net.