Sidney Crosby
The place was Halifax, Nova Scotia. The Day was Friday, August 7, 1987. On this day, a man, Troy, and a woman, Trina, rejoiced in the birth of their first born child, a son. A son that would soon choose to live, eat, and breathe hockey. A child, unknown at the time, who would soon take the National Hockey League by storm. A child who would become the greatest, talented player of all the hockey world, and who would remarkably achieve this goal by the age of nineteen.
This is Sidney Patrick Crosby and this is his story. It all started when Sidney’s father, Troy, who played major junior hockey as a goalie, gave him a little hockey stick at the age of two! Sidney played around with the stick and practiced daily in the basement of their house. Although he was just two years old he already started to love playing with the little stick, a tennis ball, and the family dryer. A year later when Sidney Crosby was just three years old he put on his first pair of skates and took to the ice. He than began playing for a hockey club and was the only child at age three who already had learned the “basics of stick handling.” Sidney immediately became recognized for his exceptional skills.
By age seven he was already known to local sports press for his hockey talent. At age ten he scored an incredible 159 goals in 55 games playing hockey in his hometown of Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia. He had a season point total of 280 points (Sidney-Crosby.info).
Sidney was so good at playing hockey he excelled against players up to three years older than him. By age fourteen it was clear Sidney was well on his way to a great professional hockey career.
Sidney and his family wanted him to play major junior hockey in his hometown but because of his young age the choice was made to play at a high school in the United States. Shattuck- Saint Mary’s Prep School in Minnesota became Sidney Crosby’s new home. Sidney set new scoring records by getting 72 goals and 110 assists for a total of 182 points in just 57 games. He also led his team to a national title (sidneycrosbyfans).
On June 7, 2003 Sidney was drafted first overall in the major junior hockey league, QMJHL, by the Rimouski Oceanic.
... milestone game in 1980, hockey in the United States has grown significantly at the professional and amateur levels. (USA Hockey, N.d.)
His career started when he was very young, he won many awards and broke several records which ended with him changing the way many viewed the game all together. Wayne Gretzky began skating at a very early age. According to “Wayne Gretzky Biography,” “he learned to skate on the Ninth River near his grandfather's farm in Canning, Ontario, and at public rinks on weekends. But it was the rink his father built for him behind the little house on Varadi Avenue in Brantford that became known as the birthplace of his skating skills.” Gretzky was only six years old when he began his first year in organized hockey.
When he went to High School, he played baseball and basketball. He attended Alvin High School. When he was a Sophomore, he pitched in front of Mets Scout Red Murff. Red said that Nolan had the best arm he had seen in his life.
Even when he was a tyke, Wayne was playing in leagues several years older then him and he was still racking in the points. When he was only 10, he played in his hometown hockey league in Brantford and parents could see this little boy had a talent. Scoring over 350 goals and over 100 assists (www.upperde ck.com/athletes/waynegretzky/profile) in that single season, it seemed he would be setting records for the rest of his life. Gretzky played a very short year of junior hockey, before being drafted into the NHL where he started his astonishing career and began collecting goals, assists, and his many unbeatable records.
Gretzky was born on January 26, 1961 in Brantford, Ontario, Canada (Biography.com). He began skating at age two and started playing the game around age six, at this age he was playing hockey with older boys (Biography.com). Gretzky’s dad taught him how to skate in their backyard on a rink Wayne had built (Gretzky). He spent countless hours practicing how to skate, leading up to his shooting and stickhandling style which helped him in his professional career (Gretzky). Gretzky’s first year playing in a league he only scored one goal the whole season, however as time went on he got better (Gretzky). He finished his minor league career by scoring 378 goals in his final season (Gretzky). As a tennager Gretzky finished his one and only season with the OHA second in scoring, after he was first in the 1978 World Junior Championships (Gretzky). As a child Gretzky always wore the number ‘9’, which was inspired by Gordie Howe, after a teammate took the number he started wearing his classic number ‘99’
As a youngster, Jessome played hockey with the stick on the local pond. “I was a goalie and I thought it was a goalie stick,” he said. “I played with it for years.”
People consider the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team to be one of the greatest things to happen in U.S Olympic history. Their game against the Soviets is known as "The Miracle on Ice." The world was stunned when the United States defeated the Soviets in the semi-final game of the 1980 Olympics. The Soviets hadn't been beaten in the gold medal game in years. This miracle game is still greatly known around the world and will not be forgotten by Americans any time soon.
The most memorable moment in hockey history came thirty-four years ago with the 1980 Miracle on Ice. The Americans defeating the dominant Soviet team at the Olympics was not only an important triumph for USA Hockey, but for the entire nation. Contrary to popular belief, the underdog win was not only the result of a miracle; it was also the result of a hard-working team led by Coach Herb Brooks. With increasingly negative views on the position of the United States in the Cold War, the Miracle on Ice and the gold medal win lifted the spirits of the nation and brought hockey into the American spotlight.
Montana was born on June 11, 1956 in New Eagle, PA. From an early age he showed interest and talent in football as well as baseball and basketball. In fact, Montana was so good at basketball that as a senior he was offered a basketball scholarship to North Carolina State University. It wasn’t until his junior year of high school that Montana achieved the position of starting QB for the Ringgold High School Rams. Montana did not relinquish the position for the next two years, and after his senior season he was named to the Parade All-American team. He decided to pursue football and accepted a scholarship to play at the University of Notre Dame.
Douglas, Bob. (2000). Life is a Ball: 50 Years of Nova Scotia Sport. Halifax, NS: Links Publishing.
Next question, did Crosby learn to skate at an early age? Well in fact he did, Crosby started skating when he was only 3 years old! Talk about a natural born. And now that got me wondering since he only started skating at the age of 3, did that make him good when he was a little older? Yes, by the age of 7 he incomparably outdid himself talent-wise
Winters in the village of Ste. Justine were long. That time on school, church, and the hockey rink, and every boy’s hero was Montreal Canadians hockey legend Maurice Richard. Everyone wore Richard’s number 9 to honor him. They laced their skates like Richard. They even wore their hair like Richard.
Hockey is a very quick game. Probably the fastest game out there. The speed really helps with entertainment. Watching the players go back and forth, scoring chances everywhere. The watchers blood pumping quick and hardly any stoppages in the game. It is they only sport that actually allows fighting to occur. This entertains and gives pride to the fans when their teams player wins. As said before, any quality of other sports can be found in Hockey, In this case it was Boxing.
Don grew up playing hockey, for he was playing in the OHL by the time he was 17. Unfortunately, Don never made it big, but he managed to make his way around the minor league system for a good 15 years. He played a few games in the NHL, attended many training camps, but nothing to brag about. But, that is where Don is different, for he will brag about his days on the ice. He will let every one know about his toughness, grit and determination. After his days as a minor league player, Don was hired on as the head coach for the Boston Bruins, where he experienced much success including a coach of the year award in 1976. It was in 1984 where Don found his true calling though, for it was that year where he accepted a job on the popular Hockey Night in Canada.