Hayley Wickenheiser

A web describing Hayley Wickenheiser. (We made it. )

Hayley Wickenheiser was born on August 12, 1978 in Shaunavon, Saskatchewan and grew up on a farm there. Hayley has a brother, Ross and a sister, Jane. Hayley had played lots of sports there that included softball, volleyball, track, soccer and figure skating, but she really wanted to play hockey. She sometimes spent three or four hours a day practicing hockey and skating on her backyard rink. She won lots of league scoring titles while playing in Shaunavon.

A colourful hockey design. (We made it.)

Hayley's hockey career shot up. When Hayley was 12, she was chosen for the Alberta Women's Hockey Team. All the other players were 16-18 years old. She scored the winning goal in the gold medal game during the Canada Winter Olympics. That earned her the Most Valuable Player award. In 1993, Hayley played on the Northwest Bruins AA Bantam boys team to keep her skills. While she was playing on that team, she won the Most Valuable Player award and the Most Dedicated Player award as well. Then, she was chosen for Canada's national team when she was only 15 years old. Her teammates called her "Highchair Hayley" because she was the youngest there. In 1997, 19 year old Hayley started training for the Nagano Olympics. Her team won the first three games against Finland, Sweden and Japan, but then she injured her elbow and knee. She kept playing, despite the pain she was in. After the next 2 games, the Canadian team was in the gold medal game against the United States. Unfortunately, they lost 2-1, earning them a silver medal. Hayley was very upset.

Pictures that show some of Hayley's intrests. (We made it.)

After winning her silver medal, Hayley bounced back and played softball in the next summer Olympics. "It was very different than hockey," Hayley says. Hayley was pleased with herself for coming from a terrible game to playing at the summer Olympics (she was the second Canadian woman ever to compete in both the summer and winter Olympics). She soon decided to train for the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics and she became assistant captain on the national team. Her team decided their motto would be WAR - We Are Responsible. In the dressing room, she said, "We have come way too far to lose now. I will not stand on the blue line in Salt Lake and accept a silver medal." In the gold medal game against the United States, Canada won 3-2. They had a gold medal! After that, Hayley played on a pro men's team in Finland. She had lots of fun. The next year, Hayley came back to Canada and kept playing hockey. She won another gold medal at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver.

Hayley Wickenheiser playing the sport she loves. (We made it.)

We admire Hayley's determination to become a female hockey player. We admire how Hayley worked on her dream until she achieved her goal. She worked hard, long before her Olympic career. At her home, she lifted tires at her homemade gym and we admire her grit to do so. Hayley is an amazing person. She is courageous, gifted and "willing to make huge sacrifices to be the best." We admire her intelligence (she is working on becoming a doctor). Hayley is living the dream of many young people. She has proven that women can be superstar hockey players. That is why Hayley Wickenheiser is our hero.

Olympic medals. (We meade it.)

Hayley's Words:

"Many times I had to dig deep and perform. All of that adversity helped me and drove me to want to be the best."

"I was the only girl out there and I had to hive my best every day. Anything less wasn't successful. I had something to prove."

"Hockey is my destiny - something I was born to do. I realized it was something I was good at and I liked it."

"People would say, 'Girls don't play hockey. Girls don't skate.' I would say, 'Watch this.'"

"With me, coaches always know what they're going to get: lots of intensity, hard work, making things happen, always a threat. That's my ideal as a player."

"I struggle against the odds since I'm a female in a male-dominated sport. I believe every girl should have the opportunity to play the game and someday play in a pro league."

"Why do I wear number 22? My best friend Danielle was number 2, so I chose 22. Also, Mark Messier wears number 11 and Gretzky was 99 - with 22, I'm in between their numbers."

"I never thought I would ever have a chance to win a gold medal."

Bibliography: 1.Information: Found from www.ctvolympics.ca and "Hayley Wickenheiser Born To Play" by Elizabeth Etue (copyright 2005, www.kidscanpress.com and the ISBN is 1-55337-791-5). 2. Web (picture1): we made it using Inspiration. 3. Picture 2: we made it. 4. Picture 3: we made it. 5. Picture 4: we made it. 6. Picture 5: we made it. 7. Picture 6: we made it.