Sami Jo Small Speaker Profile at The Lavin Agency

"The story of the gold medal day is not the story I expected to tell." Sami Jo Small is not your typical Olympics speaker; she's much more relatable. After a lifetime of training, she never got to play in "the big game." Yet, despite this—because of this—she is one of Canada's hottest new speakers. "The biggest difference between myself and other Olympians is the whole idea of being placed in situations that were not the way I had envisioned living my Olympic dream. Not playing in the final game in Salt Lake and not receiving a medal in Torino forced me to focus on the accomplishment of the team above my own feelings." It is this message of selflessness, this alertness to new situations, and this team-above-me mentality that has resonated with audiences across the country.

In her keynotes, Sami Jo Small (who is actually quite tall in person) shares a frank, vital and pragmatic message of adjusting to whatever life throws at you, at any time—of making the most of being put in a situation that is at direct odds of how you had imagined things turning out. After being told, a night before the gold medal game, that she would not be starting, she was devastated and angry. But she rose above these negative feelings, and embraced her new role with enthusiasm. She became a force of positivity in the dressing room, on the bench and on the ice when the team won its gold medal. A graceful storyteller, she shows us that a "team" needs all of its members, regardless of their role, if they are to succeed. We can all try to do better than yesterday, try to push our personal limits and try to play the roles that are given to us to the best of our abilities. "In life, you never know what you're preparing for. You don't always get to choose the role you play, but you do get to choose how you play it."

As a goalie for the Canadian women's hockey team, Sami Jo Small has won five World Championships, and twice been named championship MVP. She is a three-time Olympian, including stints on two gold-medal-winning teams. As the only girl playing in the boys minor hockey system in Winnipeg, she was forced to work harder than others to prove that she belonged. At Stanford University, she played for the Men's team, guiding them to third place in the national tournament. A much-requested speaker for corporations, she has spoken for RBC, Astra Zeneca, McDonald's and many others. Small currently plays for the Mississauga Chiefs of the CWHL and is training for the Vancouver Olympics in 2010.