By no means could I play at the level of these kids who play in the NHL now but as 50-year-olds go, I feel really good and I feel blessed that I’m still healthy.
I think sports for kids is the greatest thing in the world because it teaches you how to share, about winning and losing and pressure. But I don’t think you should force your kid to become a professional athlete.
What you want to do with your best players is, it doesn’t matter how many goals and assists they get, but when they get goals and assists. The best players get them at the most important times, and that’s when we need those guys to come through.
Thankfully, in my youth I had the best financial advisor a son could ask for: my dad Walter. When I got that first signing bonus in 1978, Dad took my cheque, announced, ‘This is what we’re going to do,’ and bought an annuity with it.
There’s no perfect coach in the world. Coaches are human, too. Mistakes are made. But, fundamentally, if you’re sound, you eliminate as many mistakes as possible.
When I played in a 21-team league, there were six or seven goalies who were just average, and the equipment and pads were smaller. I came in the right era. I played for the right team. It was all speed, and creativity and imagination.
My best friend had a hockey scholarship at Ohio State, so I would get a couple of pairs at the beginning of the season and send them down to him. They practised two hours a day. He’d skate in them for three weeks then ship them back.
I think a lot of parents live their lives through the kids. Because they didn’t make it [achieve something], they want their kids to make it. It puts a lot of undue pressure on the kids.
The Power of WHO provides great lessons about how to succeed in business and in life. If you surround yourself with quality people and great friends, the sky’s the limit.
When people come up to me and say, “I was at your Game 7 in the playoffs in Toronto,” or, “I saw your first goal in the NHL,” that triggers memories. But I don’t sit around my kitchen table and tell my kids, “You know, one year I got 92 goals.”
We’re in a tough situation because of teenage children, and then we have a 2-year-old and a 5-year-old, so my family and my responsibilities is sort of a juggle.
I played everything. I played lacrosse, baseball, hockey, soccer, track and field. I was a big believer that you played hockey in the winter and when the season was over you hung up your skates and you played something else.
One of the key qualities that you need to be a great hockey player is fantastic anticipation and feel for the game – if you know where the puck is going before it is hit, that is half the battle.
![Wayne Gretzky Quote - I think a lot of parents live their lives through the kids. Because they didn’t make it [achieve something], they want their kids to make it. It puts a lot of undue pressure on the kids.](https://minimalistquotes.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/i-think-a-lot-of-parents-live-their-lives-through--683x1024.jpg)
