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.
Wayne GretzkyPeople in general want to build somebody up and then try to knock them down. They always root for the underdog.
Wayne GretzkyI 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.
Wayne GretzkyI have absolutely no complaints about my life. But people think I got handed everything, all this kind of fell in my lap, that I was just God-gifted with all this talent. I wanted people to realize it's a lot tougher than just waking up one day and you're in the NHL.
Wayne GretzkyI couldn't beat people with my strength; I don't have a hard shot; I'm not the quickest skater in the league. My eyes and my mind have to do most of the work.
Wayne GretzkyI don't like my hockey sticks touching other sticks, and I don't like them crossing one another, and I kind of have them hidden in the corner. I put baby powder on the ends. I think it's essentially a matter of taking care of what takes care of you.
Wayne GretzkyThe last year I was playing, I asked the stick boy to get me a Diet Coke and he said, "Really?" But I always had one on the bench because that's what I did in 1979 when there wasn't Gatorade. If you needed energy you went and got a Snickers or a Kit Kat. Nobody knew any better.
Wayne GretzkyI wasn't naturally gifted in terms of size and speed; everything I did in hockey I worked for, and that's the way I'll be as a coach.
Wayne GretzkyI really wanted to write a book [99: Stories of the Game] on the tradition and history of the league, where kids can pick it up and read it and learn things and say, "Geez, I didn't know that. That's pretty cool."
Wayne GretzkyI just like to keep my money in the bank; I'm not a big risk-taker. I don't know anything about the stock market... I stay away from things I don't know anything about.
Wayne GretzkyLifting the Stanley Cup for the first time. There's nothing like it. It's the greatest story. In my era, they used to say you couldn't be a superstar without winning one. I remember thinking when I lifted it: "Now they can't say that about me."
Wayne GretzkyIt doesn't matter what I think. It doesn't matter what other people think. You have to get on the ice and participate and play and the best team wins.
Wayne GretzkyKids don't fight in minor hockey anymore. There's very few fights in junior and college hockey. So growing up, all these guys are not fighting.
Wayne GretzkyBy 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.
Wayne GretzkyWhen emotions are high, things are said, things are done. Ultimately, these players want to play. I know too many of them love the game too much.
Wayne GretzkyHullie's a lot like a garbage can. You step on the pedal with your foot and the top opens up.
Wayne GretzkyWhen I was 5 and playing against 11-year-olds, who were bigger, stronger, faster, I just had to figure out a way to play with them.
Wayne GretzkyBut in my mind, I don't think there's any question Sidney Crosby is the best all-around player in the game. His hockey sense is so strong and so solid, combined with his God-gifted talent of being able to see the ice, see the entire picture in front of him. And, most importantly, I don't care how good you are, if you don't have a work ethic, it doesn't matter. There's no question that each and every game, he's one of the hardest-working guys on the ice. In my mind, he's the best player in the game today.
Wayne GretzkyCanadian players have started to put more of an importance on the World Championships in the sense that as soon as they lose, they are called, they want to go play and they don't go only on the basis of if they are injured.
Wayne GretzkyEight days ago, we were the toast of the town. Eight days later we're Thanksgiving turkeys.
Wayne GretzkyI think the greatest thing about playing obviously is winning, and you can't replace that experience with anything.
Wayne GretzkyWhat 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.
Wayne GretzkySkating alone is an art. Doing it on a substance? I don't know. That's got to be tough.
Wayne GretzkyPeople talk about skating, puck handling and shooting, but the whole sport is angles and caroms, forgetting the straight direction the puck is going, calculating where it will be directed, factoring in all the interruptions. Basically, my whole game is angles.
Wayne GretzkySometimes people ask, 'Are hockey fights real?' I say, 'If they weren't, I'd get in more of them.
Wayne GretzkyIf I had to pick three players to start a franchise, I'd choose Hasek, Peter Forsberg and Eric Lindros.
Wayne GretzkyI wasn't a great skater and I needed my skates to be perfect - really tight around the ankles. But I couldn't break in new ones because my feet would hurt so much. I wore a size 9 shoe and a 6.5 skate - my foot was really crunched.
Wayne GretzkyI'm probably the only guy in hockey who can win a scoring title and everybody is saying I had a bad year. I don't worry about it.
Wayne GretzkyOne 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 GretzkyYour friends, family, and kids have to understand that's your priority. It's the only way you can be successful.
Wayne GretzkyThe 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.
Wayne GretzkyWe'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.
Wayne GretzkyGordie Howe and Bobby Hull and Jean Béliveau probably looked at us in the '80s and said, "These guys are soft. We used to take the train."
Wayne Gretzky