Today we’d like to introduce you to Jamie Phillips.
Hi Jamie, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I grew up in Canada playing hockey like most kids.
I ended up earning a scholarship to play hockey at Michigan Tech University.
I played there for four years, and then I played professionally.
I was drafted and signed with the Winnipeg Jets in the NHL, and I played a few years in their farm system in the American League.
When I was playing in the American League, Grand Rapids was easily one of my favorite places to come to, and that’s something I kind of kept in the back of my mind.
When I retired from professional hockey, I went back to Michigan Tech to coach as a goalie coach and to get my Master’s.
First, I went to Central Michigan for physical therapy school, and they had a satellite campus at Michigan Tech, so it allowed me to continue coaching while furthering my studies.
During my clinical rotation in my last year, my now wife and I were looking at where we wanted to settle down and do our rotations, and ideally be somewhere that’s familiar and potentially a future home.
Grand Rapids was No. 1.
I was able to get an opportunity with Fox Motors Hockey Club coaching their goalies, and that led to more and more opportunities—first to open a clinic, and now to open the hockey performance gym, Ghost Rehab and Performance.
Now it’s kind of blown up into Ghost Athletica, which is this over-encompassing high-performance hockey organization with physical therapy, training, mental coaching, vision coaching, power skating, skills coaching, goalie coaching, and nutrition with our registered dietitian.
Now we’re starting to build a team, and it’s growing into something that’s really, really awesome.
When I moved here, I could not believe the lack of high-standard hockey training.
Growing up in Canada, that’s kind of part of the culture—your off-seasons are spent at really good hockey training facilities—and we didn’t have that here.
So, knowing what that standard needs to be and knowing my standard, I was like, how can I put those two together so that we can best benefit our athletes in the community?
Here in West Michigan, we’re also competing against kids from Chicago, Detroit, Minnesota, and Toronto to be the best hockey players in the world.
Without those resources, it’s really hard to compete.
So I want to do that, and I want to do it at a super high standard.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Like any business, it’s always a challenge.
The first thing is always budgeting.
As someone who wasn’t super business savvy, I went to school to become a physical therapist, not to start a business. But I’ve had to learn through some trials and tribulations.
One thing that I’ve found has been a really good business hack is working with other business coaches who have done things like this, because they’ve made a lot of mistakes. It allows me to learn from them and not have to make those same mistakes myself.
Probably the biggest challenge that we’re facing right now is that this area has different performance gyms, but it doesn’t have a hockey performance gym. There is no true standard of off-season training and preparation.
So a lot of what we’ve had to do is educate.
Hockey is big here. People love playing hockey, and there are tons of hockey players, but we haven’t had that kind of training, guidance, or high-performance environment on this side of the state.
What I’ve actually found is that a lot of the higher-level players who are playing pro or college hockey are driving to the east side every day to go work out.
With what we’re building, they don’t have to do that anymore.
It’s right in their backyard.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Ghost Athletica is a hockey training eco system. I call it a Hockey Training Club. So our goal is to build the best hockey players, bar none.
We’re located in West Michigan, so our local athletes are West Michigan athletes, but we do have players from all around the states and actually the world who travel to train with us. We also have a lot of athletes who work with us remotely.
Inside that bubble, we have multiple services. We have our hockey training, and we have our rehab and physical therapy through Ghost Rehab and Performance, which is a separate business on-site under the umbrella. We have goalie coaching with Ghost Goalie Training, Ghost Nutrition with our dietitian, Ghost Mindset for mental training, and vision training.
We offer everything because with hockey, there are so many different areas to improve. One of the questions we face all the time from parents is where they can go for different services. They are often driving to multiple places to get everything done.
We’re simplifying that by making it all in one place so people don’t have to go anywhere.
We specialize primarily in hockey players, but we do train athletes from other sports as well.
The biggest thing that sets us apart is our standard of training and excellence that we demand. Also, our entire staff are hockey players. They have all played the game at some level, from professional to college to junior. They all have experience and truly understand what each player is going through and the demands it takes. I think that’s a huge factor.
What am I most proud of brand-wise? Honestly, it’s the fact that people recognize us and that we’re now producing really high-level hockey players.
As someone who got called up to the NHL several times, which is the highest level of hockey, and as someone who was a pro and lived out that dream, I know the hard work and dedication it takes. I also know how good it feels to achieve something toward that goal.
When we have athletes who start getting closer to that level and begin achieving those things, that’s what makes me proud.
It’s less about the brand or the business side and more about the impact we can have on these young men and women to help them reach whatever their highest level of hockey is.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
think the biggest thing that I want to share with readers is that if they have a son or daughter, or if they themselves play hockey, just come in and check us out.
By coming in and talking to me or our staff, at the very least we want to make sure we can point you in the right direction.
Whether that’s training, nutrition, mindset, injury and rehab, prehab work, or even just general hockey advice and navigating the landscape, that’s what we’re passionate about.
That’s what I’ve tried to create as an environment for hockey players and their families.
No one is better suited to do that than athletes who have been through it and who have gone on to further their education and expertise to help other athletes and hockey players become their best selves.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.ghostathletica.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jamiephillips30
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61572464339177
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@GhostAthletica
