This Fire Burns Forever The Mike DiLorenzo Comeback Story This Fire Burns Forever The Mike DiLorenzo Comeback Story Written by Justin Goldman, founder of The Goalie Guild, this Bild Novelle is dedicated as a personalized narrative for DiLorenzo’s successful rise, his frustrating fall, and his triumphant return to the game he loves. This four-part series was penned throughout August and September, 2011. Parts I, II and III were published on The Goalie Guild website, but Justin published Part IV in this inaugural Bild Novelle, which is available as a free download. All photos of Mike are copyright the DiLorenzo family and are not to be redistributed without express written consent from The Goalie Guild. Part I: The Younger Years Part II: The Junior Years Part III: From Pro to Joe Schmoe Part IV: This Fire Burns Forever the mike dilorenzo comeback story |+| by justin goldman pg. 3 are true warriors, true fighters. They embrace the battle and they learn to manage the struggle, strife and pain. DiLorenzo will not allow a lack of size to ruin his pro goaltending story. So he is fighting back in admirable fashion, and I am proud to be telling his story. With that being said, there’s really nothing left to add when introducing you to this four-part series. For, after getting to know him on a The Younger Years very personal level, I can safely say it’s only a matter of time before Mike DiLorenzo is a pro goaltender again. One of the great mysteries of life is how time flows differently for us all. For the life of a pro goaltender, time seems to flow a lot like water. One THE STORY BEGINS day it’s like a bunch of crashing waves, complete with crazy swells, foamy highs and foreboding lows. The next day, time can flow like a cleansing Even before he was born in Waterford, N.Y. back on June 9 of 1983, rain, allowing a goalie to wash away the dirty memories of the past and Mike DiLorenzo’s parents were never into hockey. For the first seven start over with a fresh outlook, a new perspective on their career. years of his life, they didn’t have season tickets to a hockey team, they Take the simile one step further and you’ll come to find that every didn’t watch games on TV, and the only sport in the family was golf, which moment and every experience that makes up a pro goaltender’s career was played by his father, Michael Sr. is swayed and shifted by one thing; the constantly changing tides of their That all changed when Mike skated for the first time ever at a friend’s attitude. birthday party. To his surprise, he was able to move around relatively well So when it comes to telling the current comeback story of a former for an eight-year-old. Mike’s experience was so enjoyable that, after the pro goalie named Mike DiLorenzo, you’ll find that his life has run the party, he swiftly proclaimed to his parents that he wanted to play hockey. gamut of turbulent water-like states. For in today’s game of pro hockey, They obliged willingly, and a few months later he was a member of the smaller goalies attempting a comeback are much more likely to end up as Clifton Park in-house mite program. shipwrecks instead of success stories. While talking about his first year on the ice, Mike’s memories mainly Listed at 5-foot-10, many will say the CSS DiLorenzo is destined to rest involved skating as a forward. As it so often goes for hockey at this age, at the bottom of the ocean. But those who have dedicated their lives to the kids are so young and impressionable that the coaches focused on stopping pucks do so knowing they have to constantly prove themselves. teaching them the game’s most essential fundamental – skating. So And if you’re willing to work tirelessly to prove your worth, life often finds Mike’s teammates rotated in goal, so as to make sure everyone on the a way to gift you with tools and mentors that guide you along the path team had a chance to stop the puck. towards your wildest dreams. When Mike’s turn finally arrived, he did so well and looked so natural More importantly, this whole “underdog” dynamic is a major part of the playing, that his coach asked him to play again. And since Mike liked it so DiLorenzo comeback. It clearly fuels his fire, so whether it’s water, fire, or much the first time, he was given the open door policy to the crease, thus some other basic element of life, the truth is that these forces of nature spending the majority of that season as a goalie. inside his mind just cannot be stopped. The inner fire that burns inside all of us is truly what separates one THE BIG SAVE goaltender from the next. Although invisible to the naked eye, it is still a powerful force we can sense, feel and almost taste. It is the answer to why For a young kid in Mike’s situation, not only was being naturally every goalie has a story to tell, and why every goalie loves to sweat. They introduced to ice skating a keystone to his future success, but having the mike dilorenzo comeback story |+| by justin goldman pg. 4 the natural ability to skate well enough to enjoy the experience was also natural reactions. important. If Mike doesn’t enjoy skating at that party, he probably never After listening to Mike discuss his early years as a goaltender, it turns asks his parents to play hockey, and this story would have never be out he was clearly one of the naturals. So with that in mind, I wanted to written. know about the very first memory that he feels cemented his future as a What is written, however, is the legendary law that says goalies must goaltender. As it turns out, this memory was quite easy for Mike to discuss. be the best skaters on their team. The precise footwork and foot dexterity It came during his very first season with Clifton Park. it takes to have the balance to move correctly in the crease is not easy to “I remember it like it was yesterday,” Mike reminisced. “It was the end of achieve, so skating skills are simply paramount. the season and I was in goal for the championships of the house league. It For in today’s offense-driven, free-flowing, fast-action game, natural was late in the game, and I just remember going down to make a standard skating talent can take a goalie an extremely long way, no matter how butterfly save. But then I was down on the ice and I remember seeing this small they might be. In fact, you could even go so far as to say the smaller kid, who was standing in front of the net, somehow get the puck with the you are, the better skater you need to be, since covering space and net was wide open. He shot it, but I just reached up my arm while I was “playing big” is so necessary to successful goaltending. lying down, and I made that save.” But learning how to be a better skater is just one step. The other is There’s no knowing when that moment in our life as goalies – the one actually wearing the goalie pads and playing between the pipes with where time slows down and allows you to remember every little detail – is confidence. Many beginners are reluctant to play goal because it’s going to happen. But it always does, and it’s usually not until many years uncomfortable, and are therefore later that we come to learn of that moment’s true impact on our life. forced into the net. Because “The net was wide open and I was down and out on my back,” Mike of this, many either hate the added. “I just saw a puck going upstairs, and I just reached my arm up as feel of the bulky pads, struggle hard as I could, and the next thing I know, the puck came down in front of to perform, or don’t enjoy the me. I can see it happening right now, it’s so crazy.” purpose of the position. Many It just seems like such a sudden, random circumstance. For Mike, it was others learn to love playing the an otherwise meaningless desperation save by a nine-year-old kid in a position over time, but it’s just house league in upstate New York. It doesn’t really leave you thinking it not as natural as with those who will withstand the test of time in the general scope of human existence. experience that instant attraction. Many pro goalies don’t even really think about that moment on a steady Loving the position right away, basis, it’s just something that’s there. when compared to someone But for a young DiLorenzo, a kid who instantly embraced being a goalie, who takes to it over time, doesn’t that moment was monolithic. The position embraced him back. guarantee one will be turn out “I don’t know, but at that moment, I just knew I was going to be a goalie to be a better goalie than the forever,” Mike said. “I remember it so vividly that I can hear all the coaches other.