The Adamek Siblings Journey From British Columbia to Liberty University

Since they could walk, they could skate. No better sentence describes the upbringing of the Adamek siblings, Zosia, Sophia and Michael, as they grew up in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.  

While most siblings end up on different paths after leaving home, these three siblings have found themselves brought together by the sport they all share: ice hockey. Zosia is a senior forward on the Women’s D1 team along with her sister Sophia who is a sophomore defenseman.  

Their brother Michael, the last of the Adamek siblings to play at a collegiate level, decided to join his sisters on Liberty Mountain as he signed with the Men’s Division 1 team this season as a freshman forward.  

Just like many Canadian children, the Adameks were involved with ice sports from a very early age. Learning to ice skate was a developmental milestone for them, just as walking, talking or riding a bike.  

Their parents put them in CanSkate, a learn-to-skate program in Canada which aims to teach children and beginners the basics of ice skating. 

“You get taught how to skate, and then you move into figure skating,” Michael said. “I really didn’t want to figure skate, so I started playing hockey.” 

From there, his older sisters hung up their figure skates for hockey skates to join their brother on the ice.  

“Me and Sophia grew up figure skating. … I feel like we did it for maybe 10 years,” Zosia said. “I just really didn’t enjoy figure skating; I didn’t like the individuality of it. So, my dad gave me the option of trying hockey or speed skating, so I took after Michael.” 

Zosia immediately felt a passion for the sport, enjoying the comradery of her teammates.  

“I wanted to try the team aspect and try girl’s hockey,” Zosia said. “After the first practice, I just fell in love with it.” 

Not long after, her sister Sophia decided to give hockey a try. This was the beginning of the two playing as teammates for years to come. 

“I think it was a year after Zosia tried, I played the next season,” Sophia said. “Then we played our first year together.” 

The raw talent and passion for hockey runs deep through the Adameks’ blood as their father played the sport at a high level and their mother played field hockey. The shared love of the sport brought the siblings together and helped them all develop a unique bond.  

“We’re definitely fortunate enough where our dad could get us individual practices and everything growing up, so we definitely spent a lot of time with each other,” Zosia said. “Especially in like the early mornings where we didn’t want to wake up. That definitely helped us bond.” 

The siblings shared the sentiment that they have a closer relationship with each other due to playing together throughout the years. 

“Obviously there’s challenges, and sometimes working so hard all the time gets you down, but it’s nice having two other people who know what’s up,” Michael said. “You have two people who know what’s going on who can comfort you.” 

The three continued to excel in the sport as the sisters played for Shawnigan Lake School while Michael played for junior leagues, continuing to develop their skills and growth as players. As they got older, each of them began to realize that continuing the sport at the next level was a real possibility.  

“I feel like we are a pretty driven family, so if we do something, we kind of want to do it to our best,” Zosia said. “I think when we got older and realized we weren’t too bad at it, we made goals.” 

Zosia, the oldest of the three, was the first to play at a collegiate level. Despite being the first to begin the college search, her younger sister played a key role in the two of them ending up at Liberty University. 

“Sophia helped a lot because one of her old teammates, Yannick Truter, played for the team (Liberty),” Zosia said. “We were playing in a spring tournament with her, and one of the scouts noticed both of us.” 

From there, Head Coach Chris Lowes contacted the sisters and had them fly out to Lynchburg for an official visit. From there, the girls were sold. 

“He invited both of us down and liked us both a lot,” Zosia said. “I think he kind of expected that if one of us came, we both would. And he seemed to be right.” 

While Sophia had other schools in mind when her time came, she could not pass up the opportunity to continue playing on a team with her sister. 

“I feel like deep down I did kind of always know,” Sophia said. “Zosia and I grew up playing hockey together, and I think it was just kind of destined that I would follow Zosia to the university. It helped a lot that she paved the way for me. I did have other options in Canada, but you can’t beat Liberty, and Zosia being there was a huge selling factor too.” 

The road for Michael, however, was not as smooth as his sisters. After playing three years of Junior A hockey, he was ready to search for a university to play for. However, an injury he sustained impacted those plans.  

“I broke my ankle my last season in playoffs, and my team dropped me,” Michael said. “Then when I was looking for other teams, I had a bunch that wanted me to try out. But when I told them that I was injured and couldn’t try out, they weren’t a huge fan of that.” 

Head Coach Kirk Handy was willing to take a chance on Michael, despite his injury. Seeing his chance to play at the next level, Michael decided to take the leap and complete the Adamek trio at Liberty. 

“Kirk was planting the seed pretty early. He’s been talking to me for a couple of years,” Michael said. “Maybe two weeks before school started, I told him I’d want to come down for the second semester, … and he said no, I’ll get you down here right away.” 

The siblings were prepared to hone their hockey skills while playing for Liberty, but they did not expect the spiritual aspect of the program. After never experiencing a team built on Christian values before, the Adameks said they experienced a bit of a culture shock once they settled in at Liberty.  

“It’s definitely been a huge change but for the better,” Zosia said. “God definitely had a plan to get me here, and then obviously showed me that there was a bigger plan involved, sending these two here.” 

Coming to Liberty was a big change from what the Adameks were used to as they had only played for secular teams and did not come from a Christian environment. 

“None of us had any religious background coming into Liberty, so that was definitely scary,” Zosia said. 

The sisters shared that during their time as Flames, they have experienced growth in aspects of their lives aside from their work on the ice. 

“We came to Liberty honestly for the hockey and the facilities here,” Sophia said. “We didn’t really go into it thinking this was great spiritually for us, but Zosia and I have learned that Liberty is the best place on Earth. We’ve grown so much.” 

The community they experienced at Liberty as well as the coaching styles have made a significant impact in the spiritual development among the family. 

“Our coaches helped us adjust a lot. I know Lowes and I’m sure Kirk also, they care about us as humans, … (not just) as hockey players,” Zosia said. “That really helped me build my faith.” 

The sisters credit their teammates with pouring into them and helping each of them understand the importance of faith. Zosia was saved two years ago while Sophia accepted Christ earlier this year and was recently baptized.  

“They (the team) are probably the biggest factor in the whole thing,” Zosia said. “Seeing a group of girls that just love Jesus and love each other so much and love me also, no matter what I believed in, really helped.” 

The hockey tradition goes back generations of Adameks as the family runs a hockey camp each summer that their grandparents started.  R&D Adamek Hockey Summer Camp, named for Rudy and Doris, is a six-hour day camp for children around ages 9-14.  

Though the camp was started by their grandparents, the siblings have taken over to continue its tradition yearly. 

“Our minor hockey organization back home, our grandfather was the first president of that. Then he started a hockey camp in the ‘70s, and my dad was the first kid enrolled in that camp,” Michael said. “Once himself and our three other uncles were kind of done with hockey, they took a break, and then our dad started the camp up again.” 

Determined to continue its legacy, the siblings have chosen to dedicate their summers to running the camp. Each year they host family friends and local kids, helping them to improve in the sport. 

“When we were all playing hockey, we had all our friends out. And then once we grew up and graduated high school, it kind of ended,” Michael said.  “And now we’re starting it up again and getting all our dad’s best friend’s grandkids and all that and keeping it in the family.” 

The siblings said they try to keep the camp at an affordable price to allow all members of the community the opportunity to participate. While the camp is not making the Adamek family a profit, it gifts them with seeing a younger generation experience the joy of the sport and allows them the chance to serve in their community. 

“The money is definitely not what keeps it going. It’s to see the kids happy,” Michael said. “It’s kind of cool because it’s only a week long with a small group of kids. It starts on Monday, and by Wednesday people will be bringing their friends out because they’re having so much fun.”  

As the years go on, the siblings are planning their individual futures beyond Liberty. While they will likely go their separate ways following graduation, each of them will always remain connected through hockey.  

Zosia, a senior this year, is studying zoology and plans to continue her education at Liberty by working towards her MBA. She aspires to open her own veterinary clinic in the future as well as continue to help with the camp. 

“I don’t know how much hockey is in my future after Liberty, but I definitely want to give back to the community that started it all,” Zosia said. 

Sophia is a sport management major who is considering doing sport analytics. She plans on keeping hockey in her life in whatever opportunity presents itself. 

“I’d love to stay in hockey as long as possible,” Sophia said. “Just teaching what I’ve learned through my dad and Liberty would be great and continuing on the tradition of R&D Hockey would be nice too.” 

Michael is currently a volunteer fireman who plans on being a firefighter in British Columbia and eventually opening a carpentry business following graduation. He also plans to continue with the sport of hockey, hoping to play in the professional leagues abroad.  

“I’d like to go play pro for a couple years in Europe,” Michael said. “And keep coaching our camp, and maybe when I have kids, I’ll coach them too.” 

For the Adameks, it has been a special journey for all three siblings to end up at the same school, despite being thousands of miles from home. While they did not plan it, they understand the blessing of family and have a unique perspective of what it means to go through life together. 

“Usually after high school, you see all the siblings get split up,” Michael said. “We were split up during high school and all came back together down here, which is pretty cool.” 

White is the sports editor for the Liberty Champion. Follow her on X.