Show What a great idea Gretzky on coaching Kurt Streeter Los Angeles Times Sometimes its it's not about winning at least not the way our octane high-octane world has come to think of winning now instead of later Sometimes its it's about teaching learning and hoping for a better future I have to be patient to tomake tomake tomake make this work the coach of the Phoenix Coyotes said the other day You might have heard of this coach a former player named Wayne Gretzky Patience he said is part of the process for turning our team around Patience In today's world Process From a superstar Beautiful Here is someone an n icon no less we can learn leam from He is still the same unfailingly polite uncommonly humble guy we met when he came to the Kings in 1988 turned hockey games into hockey events and ushered in a afresh afresh afresh fresh wave of popularity for the sport He has the same thin frame tight smile blond tresses and gray eyes He looks as if he could simply lace the skates loosen his joints and take taketo to the ice Truth is now that he is 46 he could choose to spend the rest of his days playing golf But Wayne Gretzky doesn't want any of that of In 2005 the Coyotes a meatloaf team he partly owns needed a new coach He decided that he knew just the guy S. S t r i I 1 Behold Wayne Gretzky coach With the Coyotes in California this week to play the defending Stanley Cup champion Ducks I went to Anaheim and caught up with Gretzky near the rink Last year he signed a year five-year extension to keep on coaching and I wanted to know what was driving him to submit to such a difficult grind For guys like you I said coaching is a dead end right Why will you be any different Yeah he said the first thing you think of with a good athlete is that he cant can't be a good coach because he was a good athlete Just good OK well yeah OK great athlete He grimaced The humility is genuine But the reality is I was not the most naturally gifted player I wasn't the swiftest skater I wasn't the strongest guy My success came from preparation and hard work and a passion and love for the game I missed it when I retired Now I have the chance to have that passion back pass on what I know and see where we can go Where they can go is not obvious The Coyotes were bad before Gretzky took over and now going into his third season they are still bad This past season off-season he and the other owners stripped the team to its bones Gone is the high- high priced veteran talent that never delivered Now the Coyotes are the youngest team in the league They have a year old center IL i 1 r 4 j and a bunch of players in their mid talented but without much experience Kids If this is a journey its it's going to be long and hard Marco Polo taking the Silk Road to China maybe without a payoff Gretzky knows this yet he is happy as can beIm beIm beIm be Im getting a lot of joy from coaching he said Lets face it ithe he told me Im no Scotty Bowman Bowman coached teams to nine Stanley Stanlcy Cup championships I have a alot alot alot lot to learn But you know what I really love that Maybe the most important thing is this Gretzky has a big sweaty hockey team around aroundhim aroundhim aroundhim him again A family A brotherhood Guys he lie leads into battle on game nights Once again he can taste the elixir of the chase This is what its it's about he said Last week we lost a tough game at home Sunday came and I usually give them Sundays off but this time I I skated them pretty hard Well they were screaming and yelling laughing at atme atme atme me telling me to skate them harder and harder I thought that was great for team camaraderie That's the part I love I loved the fact that they were trying to stick it to me On Thursday against the Ducks the camaraderie seemed to help Roving behind his players Gretzky looked unruffled something like a hip nattily attired college professor The Ducks outplayed his Coyotes but the Coyotes played smartly and efficiently They put up one goal and clung to it And they walked off with witha a win their third against five losses |