ST. PAUL – “Set a goal and fulfill it,” are words Mark Tichkowsky instills upon the many youths he’s worked with. He is a teacher, a coach – and a mentor.
Tichkowsky is the principal of the St. Paul Regional High School, but he’s also the head coach of the St. Paul Lions and this year’s Football Alberta Tier IV High School Coach of the Year.
Football Alberta, the provincial organization for amateur and high school football in the province, announced the Football Alberta Awards for 2022, last week.
Despite the Lions’ loss against the Drumheller Titans 21-20 during the Tier IV provincial championship last fall, “the Lions are here for the long haul, and no one is more responsible for their success than their head coach – Mark Tichkowsky,” reads information from Football Alberta.
Getting started
“It’s an honor to get [the award],” Tichkowsky told Lakeland This Week, as he recalled his many years with St. Paul Football. He started coaching alongside other St. Paul football coaches, such as the current Bengals’ bantam coach Todd Tanasichuk, “and when you surround yourself with great coaches, it makes the job pretty easy.”
Looking back over the years to when he first started working at St. Paul Regional High School, Tichkowsky says his focus was on teaching. Then, he heard the school’s football program was looking for coaches.
“There wasn’t a lot of people with a lot of football experience then, and I just finished university,” where Tichkowsky had been also playing football. “So, I had a good background in the sport.”
He played football for the Valley City State University in the United States for four years and on a football scholarship, prior to pursuing his teaching career in St. Paul.
Not just about football
According to Tanasichuk, it’s not just about winning football games for Tichkowsky.
“He wants [players] to succeed. He wants to make them better people,” said Tanasichuk. “He’s the type of guy that really won’t give up on a kid... giving kids a lot of opportunity, and to keep showing them that they want to be on the football field."
He added, “He’s very patient with them and I would say that’s another strength of his coaching abilities.”
Tanasichuk recalled how since Tichkowsky started coaching, he has helped make St. Paul’s football program stronger. “He was there at the beginning when our program was struggling in 2000."
Since then, Tanasichuk said Tichkowsky have put in over two decades worth of time coaching football in St. Paul.
“It’s great to see him finally get rewarded in that way, and it speaks to where our program is as well – that we’re finally getting somewhere,” said Tanasichuk. “He’s been doing this for a long time, and we all have. But it’s good to see Football Alberta finally giving our program the recognition it deserves.”
Philosophy
As a coach, Tichkowsky says he looks at the football program more as a family, and a way to develop youth. It’s not only about dedication to the sport, but also dedication to other things in life, and teaching youth skills they need to achieve their goals.
“We know that not too many of our football players are going to make a living doing this, but at least they can enjoy it,” he says. “And as a family, [we] also develop goals together and try to achieve those goals throughout the year.”
Tichkowsky admits there are points when, as a team, the group can feel a lack of motivation, perhaps simply due to “bad practice, or players feel like giving up.” There are sometimes players who wanted to quit, “but we’re all in this together.”
“[So,] you kind of talk them through it and you have to do what’s best for them... but again, it comes back to – if you set a goal, then you should fulfill that goal,” said Tichkowsky.
Balancing academics and sports
When asked how he balances academics and sports with his athletes, the high school principal is firm in that “academics always come first.”
Tichkowsky recognizes that being an athlete and a student is difficult and balancing the two is important. “And again, that comes back to that life lesson of ‘What are your priorities?’ and ‘how do you balance practice or a job?’ for example... I always stress that.”
Moving forward
Tichkowsky is looking forward to the future and “our goal is always to do well in the Wheatland Football League,” which he admits to being a difficult endeavor. However, as always, that goal includes getting to another provincial final, and “making some noise.” One day, he hopes “to win that gold medal.”
Tichkowsky also thanked his many assistant coaches, because “if it wasn’t for them – I wouldn’t be receiving the award.”
