Local goalies learn from the best

When Zach Sikich was just 3 years old, he was lost in a whiteout blizzard in Elveleth, Minnesota.

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.

Sikich was well bundled-up and none the worse for wear when she retrieved him.

“My mother would pull me to the rink and teach me to skate,” Sikich said. “It 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.”

Sikich, a former high school, college, club and professional hockey goalie likes to teach that survival skill to net minders, young and old alike.

“The most challenging thing to teach is creating grit as a habit,” Sikich told the Empire in an interview at the Treadwell Ice Arena. “Having 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.”

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.

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.

Stopping the puck, however, is his passion.

“Teaching kids grit is the biggest challenge,” Sikich said. “They have to experience hardship and they have to experience pain and struggle, and sometimes they don’t 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.”

The young skaters at Treadwell Ice Arena this past week saw the value of what they get over what they have to give.

“Value equals utility over cost,” Sikich said. “They have to see what they can get out of this and ask themselves, ‘What do you desire? Do you want to make the A team? Do you want to feel good with a shut out?’ In order to do that, you have to cultivate the skill, you can’t 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.”

Sikich taught the difference between confidence, which he defined as ‘my opinion of my ability,’ and arrogance, the idea that what one don’t know doesn’t matter.

“You want to have an open mind to your abilities,” Sikich said. “Confidence is mostly wisdom. You realize that you don’t know everything. School is never out for the masters.”

Last week’s 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.

“I am learning a lot about positioning,” Juneau-Douglas High School freshman Evan Fabrello said. “And 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.”

Sikich’s “Aha” 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’t make it to all the appointments. Sikich was on his speed dial.

That was fun for Sikich. Plus, he worked at a hockey shop and watched over the goalie equipment. Customers asked if he did lessons.

“I always responded yes, and then would figure it out,” Sikich said. “I 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.”

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.

He played for the NHL Anaheim Ducks for 14 minutes but never made the ice. The Ducks’ 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’t arrive in time. They then phoned Sikich because he had trained their goalies the year before, and he lived nearby.

“The 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,” Sikich said. “That as a tremendous thrill before an NHL game.”

Sikich also learns from each camp.

“I learn patience,” he said. “Everyone 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.”

In the Juneau players, Sikich recognized something special.

“They all stuck up for each other,” Sikich said. “They are from a small town. I remember that because I grew up in a town of 1,900 people.”

Gilbert, Minnesota, sits in the Iron Range Off Highway Vehicle Recreation Area.

“I just remember if you were a hockey player in Gilbert you all stuck together,” Sikich said. “There are no clicks or different social circles.”

Sikich said the Juneau players still need to get tougher, but all hockey players do.

“They need to be more mobile,” Sikich said. “Have more flexibility, strength … and that is common in any kids this age. The positives I noticed is how they all stuck together.”

Sikich started out a goalie because he wasn’t a good skater, plus he liked the cool gear. As a youth, he played outside hockey all the time with his mates.

“Our moms would break out blow dryers when we came in because our feet were so cold,” Sikich said. “My 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.”

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.

“It is going to last them the rest of their career,” Sikich said. “Our goal is to make these kids lighthouses. They will shine their light and give people direction.”