Greg
Twarozek Personality
Profile
“Mr. B”
Chris Burzynski may seem like your
average every day person, but in my eyes he is so much more. Burzynski, is 36
years old, married, has 2 dogs and teaches Physical Education and Health at the
Charter School for Applied Technologies. “Mr. B” as he is addressed during the
school day has taught 14 years, attended West Seneca East High School and then earned
his degree at Canisius College. Burzynski spent much of his high school career
playing 3 different sports, Hockey, Football and Lacrosse.
He accomplished numerous feats on the
athletic field during his school days, including being an alternate for the
Olympic Games as a power lifter and a weightlifting champion in Buffalo by
becoming the first man to lift a 400 pound bar, which put him in the Buffalo
Weightlifting Hall of Fame. He distinguished himself as a 4 time gold medalist
in the Empire State games, “It’s something you watch on TV as a little kid and
you dream of doing it someday,” Burzynski said on becoming a gold medalist. Even
though his career in athletics is done, he still remains competitive in his
free time while driving his race car.
Chris’ most memorable sports moment
though came in his sophomore year of high school. He was on the Junior Varsity team for West
Seneca East hockey and they were playing St. Francis in the Championship game. The
game was tied 1-1 heading into overtime. Then minutes after the period started,
Chris scored the game winning goal to help his team win the game 2-1 and the
State Championship. He said it was really memorable because if he didn’t score
that goal, “No one would have remembered us and everything we accomplished that
year.”
I asked him a few questions about
the issue of steroids in sports and whether or not he has ever come into
contact with anyone who has used them. He told me that he came in contact with
those people but didn’t know them personally but the way they acted was clearly
different than that of a normal person. “I saw some of the guys who were on
them, they look pretty freakish.” said Burzynski. He told me that as a pro
athlete, he can understand why the athletes do it, to increase their money
intake but he said there is always the “risk vs reward” factor. His views on
steroid use are pretty clear “When you see professional athletes using them, you
can understand why drug use in sports is frowned upon.”
Burzynski stated that athletes using performance
enhancing drugs should be suspended and punished because they are sending the
wrong kind of signals to our younger generation. Chris said much controversy
surrounds the use of PED’s with how many professional athletes get paid in the
United States, that it’s an incentive to do steroids. “In our country, PED’s
are illegal and do some people get away with it, yes they do, do they make tons
of money, yes they do, are they going to stop doing it, probably not.” Chris
ended by saying that many young athletes “don’t realize the consequences at the
time” but eventually their careers may be destroyed due to PED use. “People do
not take into account the long term effects that steroids can have on the body,
so when people are caught for doping, they are not just cheating themselves but
their ruining the sport in the process.”
After speaking with Mr. Burzynski, I
spoke with Doug Whitehead, who is not only a work colleague but a close
personal friend to Mr. B. He explained
his relationship with him and what’s it been like working with him over the
past few years. “I knew him before I started teaching here at CSAT and the one
thing I love about him is that he’s got a lot of heart, really cares about the
kids and what he does.” Doug has learned a lot during his time teaching at CSAT
with Burzynski and when asked about what makes Burzynski a good teacher he was
quick to point out that Mr. B is a very enthusiastic instructor who holds the
kids to high standards. “Mr. B is very successful because of his organizational
skills not just with teaching but with coaching as well.”
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