Wayne Gretzky

They told him he was too small, too slow, and too weak. But what

those coaches and scouts from thirty years ago did not realize was that

Wayne Gretzky was unstoppable.

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From the time he learned to skate at age two, in his father’s backyard rink in Brantford,
Ontario, Wayne loved hockey. He would skate, practice, and play hockey every spare
moment, even gobbling down his dinner while wearing his skates so that he could rush
back out to the ice again and play until dark.
Gretzky credits his father with teaching him the secrets to success, in hockey and in life -
to work hard and make the best use of your strengths.
Wayne Gretzky was neither the biggest nor fastest hockey player on any of his teams. In
fact, he was usually much smaller than the other players because he would play against
older boys. And this seemed only fair - at age six, Wayne could outplay any ten-year-old!
Despite his lack of size and speed, Wayne had such phenomenal talent in passing the
puck, making plays, and avoiding the checks of the larger players that he became a child
hockey star. He set records and won scoring championships everywhere he went.
But the so-called experts dismissed Wayne’s skills and said he could not make it in the
stronger, tougher competition of the National Hockey League (NHL). Several teams
passed over the chance to sign him up; it was a decision that every one of them would
come to regret.
Over a twenty-year NHL career, Wayne Gretzky broke every record in the book. By the