Gabe Polsky grew up down the street from one of the few outdoor hockey rinks in Illinois. He was never forced into the game by his parents, never attended a prestigious academy, and never allowed his passion to be influenced by outsiders.
That’s part of why In Search of Greatness is such a personal film for Polsky. The documentary filmmaker talks in-depth to retired legends in three different sports — hockey star Wayne Gretzky, football star Jerry Rice, and soccer star Pele — to gain insight into their upbringing, work ethic, and secrets to success.
He found a common theme, that creativity, freedom, and self-expression are the foundations for greatness rather than duplication or coercion.
“Greatness is not something that you copy or repeat. You’ve got to have your own voice or ability, and those differences are what make you great,” Polsky said during a recent stop in Dallas. “In youth sports, we’re always encouraged to conform. But when you go to the stadium, you’re looking for creativity and magic. You want to see something you’ve never seen before.”
It seems like a simple concept, yet one that would be difficult for Polsky (Red Army), a former hockey player at Yale, to articulate on his own.
“Nobody’s going to listen to me,” he said. “You can’t argue with the greatest of all time. I knew that was the only way I could tell these stories. They have nothing to prove. I had to convince them of my artistic vision and passion.”
He admits that securing the three interviews took some persistence and persuasion, using every connection he had just to visit with their agents. Once the cameras were rolling, he had only about an hour with each one.
“That was the exercise. There was no structure. I had to be focused, because there was nothing to waste,” Polsky said. “It’s a different, very human window into them.”
The film delves into the importance of positive coaching and mentors who breed success in young athletes, using its interviewees as examples. But it all starts with passion, which takes Polsky, 39, back to his childhood afternoons skating and shooting pucks on his own at the outdoor rink.
“That’s where I learned all my skills for hockey. It was all because of that,” he said. “I was always there and messing around and being creative. If I learned hockey in a structured place, forget it. I’d be like a machine. I’ve never been happier in my life than playing outside.”
