How do you go from interning as a strength-and-conditioning coach on the Stanley Cup-winning Avalanche to becoming an Illinois Conservation Police officer two decades later?
Meet Nick Zostautas and his one-of-a-kind path.
After interning with the Avalanche, he was an assistant strength-and-conditioning coach at Northwestern (2002-08), then the head strength-and-conditioning coach at UIC (2008-22) before becoming a CPO. (He also was an adjunct professor in kinesiology at UIC in 2020-22).
That’s an unheard-of career switch, fueled partially by shifts in college sports.
‘‘It’s almost not amateur anymore,’’ Zostautas said. ‘‘We used to preach team and camaraderie. Now it is more of a corporate [environment].’’
Zostautas is an anomaly in other ways, too. He comes from the Chicago area. His family roots are around 22nd and Western, and he graduated from Lyons Township.
Rarely do CPOs come from Chicago or the suburbs. Even more rarely do they stay. For most CPOs, the dream is being in the woods, waters and fields of Illinois, not the concrete and blacktop of Chicago.
That leads to a significant disconnect between the conservation police and the public around the city. Somebody such as Zostautas is a bridge over troubled waters.
At the last Chicago fishing advisory committee meeting, he came with a map he had made of where it is legal to snag at Jackson Park.
‘‘I wanted to make it crystal clear to our new recruits what is legal,’’ he said.
And to the public.
One of his sayings is, ‘‘Eighty percent of my job is education, 20% is enforcement.’’ I’m not sure he appreciated my observation that it sounded like something a strength coach would put on the bulletin board in the weight room.
I appreciate that he understands outdoors folks around Chicago aren’t a homogeneous group. Montrose Harbor is the United Nations of fishing for good reason.
‘‘Our job is not just to write citations but to teach,’’ Zostautas explained. ‘‘When we approach somebody, we want to know what they know and not just start wallpapering them with tickets. Find out if they are genuine or disingenuous. . . . It’s knowing the population you work with and respecting them. When I check people, I will show them respect. The majority of them want to see us out. The ones who don’t are the ones we need to talk to.’’
Zostautas is a big man, cut like a strength coach, yet he doesn’t seem menacing (I’m sure he could, if necessary). Not surprisingly, a highlight in his CPO career came while he was working a fishing derby at William Powers State Recreation Area on the Southeast Side. Kids came up and said: ‘‘I didn’t know police officers could be this cool. You are one of the coolest cops I have seen.’’
As he knows, ‘‘The majority of our job is helping people.’’
He said it’s best to report violations on the IDNR tip line at 877-2DNRLAW (877-236-7529). That is broadcast to everyone working.
Wild things
Tom Jurich emailed that the monarch migration is still on. He spotted two in Northwest Indiana in the past week. . . . With a good frost, persimmon enthusiasts should be scouring the ground for fallen fruit.
Illinois hunting
Duck and Canada goose seasons open Saturday in the north zone.
Stray cast
May my deer season mirror the Bears’.