When Zach Sikich was just 3 years old, he was lost in a whiteout blizzard in Elveleth, Minnesota.<\/p>\n
To be more precise, he fell off a sled while being pulled to an outdoor skate rink by his mother during heavy snowfall with freezing temperatures.<\/p>\n
Sikich was well bundled-up and none the worse for wear when she retrieved him.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy mother would pull me to the rink and teach me to skate,\u201d Sikich said. \u201cIt was always cold. My mother called it eyeball-freezing weather. That is when it is so cold and you blink, your eyelashes freeze together. That was my first memory. The rink was just three blocks from our house.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sikich, a former high school, college, club and professional hockey goalie likes to teach that survival skill to net minders, young and old alike.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe most challenging thing to teach is creating grit as a habit,\u201d Sikich told the Empire in an interview at the Treadwell Ice Arena. \u201cHaving grit and perseverance. That is the number one thing that is the differentiating thing in any activity, whether it is goal tending or running a business or raising a family.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sikich has made a name for himself combining those three, and now his ProHybrid Goaltending System camps are franchised in the United States, Austria and the Czech Republic. The system also features a series of DVDs. <\/p>\n
Sikich has also co-founded Gardien Engineering to produce effective and innovative goaltending products, is an author on gaining and maintaining confidence, a motivational speaker and a network marketer for health and wellness company Isagenix.<\/p>\n
Stopping the puck, however, is his passion.<\/p>\n
\u201cTeaching kids grit is the biggest challenge,\u201d Sikich said. \u201cThey have to experience hardship and they have to experience pain and struggle, and sometimes they don\u2019t like that. In order to get grit and perseverance, you have to get through to the other side of all those challenges. The key is to get them to decide to get to the other side.\u201d<\/p>\n
The young skaters at Treadwell Ice Arena this past week saw the value of what they get over what they have to give.<\/p>\n
\u201cValue equals utility over cost,\u201d Sikich said. \u201cThey have to see what they can get out of this and ask themselves, \u2018What do you desire? Do you want to make the A team? Do you want to feel good with a shut out?\u2019 In order to do that, you have to cultivate the skill, you can\u2019t fake it or procrastinate. It takes time. When they feel that pain and discomfort it has to be the cue for them to decide that they can be different now. It is not for everyone. That is the first thing we tell people. ProHybrid Training is not for everyone, it is for people who want to differentiate themselves and want to be better.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sikich taught the difference between confidence, which he defined as \u2018my opinion of my ability,\u2019 and arrogance, the idea that what one don\u2019t know doesn\u2019t matter.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou want to have an open mind to your abilities,\u201d Sikich said. \u201cConfidence is mostly wisdom. You realize that you don\u2019t know everything. School is never out for the masters.\u201d<\/p>\n
Last week\u2019s three-day camp sponsored by Juneau Douglas Ice Association taught a group of eight Juneau goalies about hand-eye coordination, movement around the crease, following the puck, challenging opponents and a multitude of drills the kids could work on when Sikich is gone.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am learning a lot about positioning,\u201d Juneau-Douglas High School freshman Evan Fabrello said. \u201cAnd how to track the puck all the way to me and where to look when I go down. The most exciting thing to learn is the new positions and more about the places on the ice and what they are.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sikich\u2019s \u201cAha\u201d moment as to becoming a goalie coach came as a junior playing for St. Thomas University in Minnesota. One of his buddies was running a goalie-training business and couldn\u2019t make it to all the appointments. Sikich was on his speed dial.<\/p>\n
That was fun for Sikich. Plus, he worked at a hockey shop and watched over the goalie equipment. Customers asked if he did lessons.<\/p>\n
\u201cI always responded yes, and then would figure it out,\u201d Sikich said. \u201cI said I could work with their son or daughter and asked if they had ice. I found out that it was a lot of fun, I could make money doing it and people were very happy to do it. When my college buddies were baffled that people paid me, I realized that they do and are happy about it. Whenever you add value to peoples lives, there is a business opportunity there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Aside from running ProHybrid, Sikich is a goalie coach for the Sioux Falls Stampede and the executive director and co-owner of the Minnesota IceMen. He has played semi-pro for the Motor City Mechanics, Danbury Trashers, Fort Wayne Komets and Phoenix Roadrunners. <\/p>\n
He played for the NHL Anaheim Ducks for 14 minutes but never made the ice. The Ducks\u2019 main goaltender was injured before a game in Minnesota as was the backup, and they called up another player from the minors but he wouldn\u2019t arrive in time. They then phoned Sikich because he had trained their goalies the year before, and he lived nearby.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe best part was getting out of the suit I wore to the arena, hanging my clothes into a locker, getting into hockey gear and taping sticks,\u201d Sikich said. \u201cThat as a tremendous thrill before an NHL game.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sikich also learns from each camp.<\/p>\n
\u201cI learn patience,\u201d he said. \u201cEveryone has a different growth curve, and it teaches me how to communicate in different styles. The principles I am trying to teach are the same whether I am in Juneau or the Czech Republic or the Netherlands. It is really rewarding because you have to figure out how to connect with each goalie.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the Juneau players, Sikich recognized something special.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey all stuck up for each other,\u201d Sikich said. \u201cThey are from a small town. I remember that because I grew up in a town of 1,900 people.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gilbert, Minnesota, sits in the Iron Range Off Highway Vehicle Recreation Area.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just remember if you were a hockey player in Gilbert you all stuck together,\u201d Sikich said. \u201cThere are no clicks or different social circles.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sikich said the Juneau players still need to get tougher, but all hockey players do.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey need to be more mobile,\u201d Sikich said. \u201cHave more flexibility, strength \u2026 and that is common in any kids this age. The positives I noticed is how they all stuck together.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sikich started out a goalie because he wasn\u2019t a good skater, plus he liked the cool gear. As a youth, he played outside hockey all the time with his mates.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur moms would break out blow dryers when we came in because our feet were so cold,\u201d Sikich said. \u201cMy first strategy as a second grade goalie was to put a line of snow along the goal line as extra defense if I messed up. I realized if I played well the team would have a chance to win every time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sikich said that the Juneau togetherness will lead to more grit, it will rub off on their teammates, and it will produce better hockey players and, perhaps, a championship or two.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is going to last them the rest of their career,\u201d Sikich said. \u201cOur goal is to make these kids lighthouses. They will shine their light and give people direction.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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