Like most athletes, i think everyone was bad in school. Especially high school. I am a nervous public speaker and would need to calm the nerves somehow. For me, joking around and seeing people laugh or smile really makes me at ease with any given situation so a couple jokes about when I was in detention because of something stupid I did or maybe talk about how I was bad at school would make the kids chuckle a little, even if it is at me, it is going to lighten the mood for me to speak.
But other than that, I think the cheesy message of shooting for the stars and aiming for your dreams is the way to go. Playing professional sports or hockey is one of the toughest things to do. it will not come easy, thats forsure, but you need to dedicate your time and efforts, make some sacrifices and keep on working to improve everyday in order for you to get to where you want to be. Those 7 AM or 6 AM practices, the gym workouts early in the morning or even 2 times a day are a pain in the behind, but you need to get better and get to where you want to be so you need to do things you dont want to do.