Changing the Culture of Hockey with Hayley Wickenheiser | Cocktails & Convos
We were so excited to chat with Canadian hockey legend Hayley Wickenheiser about her super accomplished life as a four-time Olympic gold medalist (and mom!) and how she has since retired from competitive hockey and gone on to med school to become an emergency doctor. Tune in for a discussion about the pros and cons of the hockey culture and mentality, the progression of gender equality in sports and...batsh*t crazy parents.
Check out the interview below and keep scrolling for our top takeaways from this episode.
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KEY TAKEAWAYS:
Hayley started playing hockey when she was just five years old. Growing up in the small town of Shaunavon, Saskatchewan (which consisted of 1800 people), life was lived around the rink. And with 30 kids on her block who were always out playing on the street, she basically grew up with built-in hockey teams.
The town loved having Hayley play because she was a body and they needed more kids in order to make teams, but she was the only girl in her town (once her best friend stopped) who was consistently on the ice. In fact, Hayley thought she was the only girl in the world playing hockey until she watched the 1990 Women’s World Championship and it was upon that realization that she knew she might have a future in the sport. The whole “if you can see it, you can be it” mentality for girls is real.
Playing hockey was Hayley’s calling that she always gravitated toward. Her dad always coached and her mom was always involved, but they never pushed her into the sport. The only rule they had in their house was that Hayley (and her younger brother and sister) had to be active in some way through a sport or activity.
When Hayley talks to parents now, she always tries to remind them that it's not your dream, it's your child's dream and your kids are going to make it with or without you. Although she was fortunate to have had an incredible support system around her, her parents allowed her to sink or swim on her own which was good for her.
If you have a child who doesn't have a specific interest or talent in any one sport, Hayley recommends exposing them to a variety of sports or activities and they will ultimately find their passion. It will not only give them something to do, but it will also teach them discipline and other valuable life lessons.
Hayley played with the boys until she was in her mid-teens and then switched over to women’s hockey in order to try out for the National team. She was playing with women who were twice her age (and older!), but these women shaped her life. They were from all walks of life, had successful careers and also played hockey professionally, and they taught Hayley so much.
Hayley may have been gifted with being a good athlete, but she also worked really hard. She had the work ethic thing down pat and throughout her whole career she’d say: “There might be better talent, but I'm going to make sure that nobody outworks me."
When it comes to parents at sports practices and events, Hayley says that if she sees unacceptable behaviour at the rink, she'll actually ask them to leave. 90% of parents are amazing and super supportive - sometimes they get carried away, but we all do. But she doesn’t stand for the other 10% who are crazy hockey parents.
If your kid is specializing in any one thing, they’re probably going to become really good at it for the short term, but over the long haul it will always even out. Often the best hockey players aren’t the ones who just play hockey all year round, they did other sports as well. It’s completely unnecessarily to hone in on any one sport or activity.
We have to change the sports culture and mentality because it has become problematic. Over in Europe, they’re incredibly patient with how they develop athletes and there is prestige for the best coaches coaching the youngest kids (they actually get paid to do it whereas in Canada the coaches are volunteer parents). One of the ways we can change the hockey culture is to put qualified people in as coaches and look at how we’re developing children as athletes.
We can change the culture of hockey in Canada by changing our attitude towards it. We need to be more patient with kids and let them develop at their own pace rather than being so quick to write them off because a lot of talent falls off the wayside.
The skills that sports equip kids with for life are so important! It wasn’t until she stepped away from the sport and her team that Hayley realized how much hockey has given to her life and how competent the women she played with through the years are as human beings.
As for achieving gender equality in sports, we can help push it forward and close the gap, but a lot of it comes down to the male leaders and people in power who need to step up and believe in it and take a chance on it. We need the broadcasters to champion it and then people have to watch it and buy tickets and show their support. We also need to get our daughters involved. The pandemic has set the progress for women's hockey back, but we’re getting close.
MORE ABOUT HAYLEY WICKENHEISER:
Hayley Wickenheiser is the longest serving member of Canada’s National Women’s Hockey Team. She competed in the first five Olympic games in which women’s hockey was included, winning 4 gold and 1 silver medal, making her one of Canada’s most decorated Olympians. Hayley also competed in softball at Sydney 2000, making her the second female Canadian athlete to compete at both the summer and winter Games. In 2017, she retired from competitive hockey and became Assistant Director of Player Development for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Hayley is now in med school to become an Emergency Physician. To top things off, she’s also a mom to her son, Noah!!
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