Wooden – A Must Read for Coaches and Athletes
Coach John Wooden is the undisputed best basketball coach of all time. He’s arguably the best coach in any sport of all time. He won ten NCAA national championships in a 12-year period as head coach of the UCLA men’s basketball team.
His book Wooden: A lifetime of Observations and Reflections On and Off the Court is the perfect representation of this legacy. His philosophies outlined in this book are summed up nicely by Bill Walton in the preface:
Be the best you can be in whatever endeavor you undertake. Don’t worry about the score. Don’t worry about image. Don’t worry about the opponent.
This idea of competing against yourself and no one else is core to Wooden’s secrets to success. His other core philosophies are summed up by these 11 quotes and paraphrased quotes I pulled from the book:
11 Core John Wooden Philosophies
1) Being a role model is the most powerful form of educating
2) Fear of punishment is not a good motivator…Those who dispense discipline must remember that its purpose is to help, to prevent, to correct, to improve, rather than to punish.
3) It’s important to keep trying to do what you think is right no matter how hard it is or how often you fail.
4) The effort is what counts in everything….Perfection is what you are striving for, but perfection is an impossibility. However, striving for perfection is not an impossibility.
5) Learn as if you were going to live forever, and live as if you were going to die tomorrow.
6) Preparation is where success is truly found…Competitiveness must be focused exclusively on the process of what you are doing rather than the result of that effort (the so-called winning or losing).
7) Ability can get you to the top, but it takes character to keep you there. A big part of character is the self-discipline needed to avoid complacency, resist temptation, and understand that past success doesn’t guarantee future success.
8) Believe in the basics: attention to, and perfection of, tiny details that might commonly be overlooked.
9) True competitors derive their greatest pleasure out of playing against the very best opponents, even though they may be outscored. The difficult challenge provides the rare opportunity to be their best.
10) Adversity often produces the unexpected opportunity. Look for it. Appreciate and utilize it.
11) Act quickly, but don’t hurry. When you hurry, you tend to make mistakes. On the other hand, if you can’t execute quickly, you may be too late to accomplish your task. It’s a delicate but crucial balance.
In conclusion, if you are a coach or athlete this book is a must read. It’s one thing to read John Wooden’s quotes and shake your head in agreement. It’s another thing to understand and learn from the thinking that led him to say these timeless words. Read this book for the latter and you won’t be disappointed.