Unless you just totally hate all things associated with sports (and I doubt you do if you're reading this blog), then you have heard that legendary UCLA coach, John Wooden, passed away over the weekend. He was 99 years old. Coach Wooden was cross-generational. His teachings and the foundation of his beliefs transcend time. Simply put, John Wooden was an icon - not just a sports icon, but a total icon.
I was first introduced to John Wooden's teachings through a professor and mentor in college. Dr. John Paul Muczko, a prominent sports psychologist, directed me to "the little blue book," Wooden: A Lifetime of Observations and Reflections On and Off the Court. I picked up the book and began reading it. I found it so simple yet profound. The basic foundations of Coach Wooden's principles seemed like common sense to me, but once you add our basic human nature to things then they become complex.
People, by nature, are generally selfish. We tend to think of our needs before the needs of others. When you factor that into the equation it makes Coach Wooden's accomplishments that much more astounding. He was able to take great players and make them think less of themselves and more about the greater good of the team and others. To me, that's nothing short of a miracle. And as a coach I have worked my tail off trying to find ways to get my girls to play as a team. It has not been easy. In fact, it's been downright impossible in some regards. Yes, when things are going well and a team is winning things go much better. The extra pass is made. There are more high-five's handed out. But when the chips are down...that's when the character is revealed. That's when our selfish nature stands out.
This leads me back to "the little blue book" and other books by and about John Wooden. During a workout with my team last summer, I mentioned something to them about Coach Wooden. They all looked at me like I was speaking a different language. It was at that point that I decided to challenge my team. I asked them all to read a book about John Wooden and they had to do a one-page book report on the book that they read. It met some resistance, but each young lady in the gym that day had no idea how much their thoughts would be changed.
I still have all of the book reports and it amazes me how much those young ladies enjoyed reading about Coach Wooden. I find them reciting his quotes to me! Here are teenaged girls taking a vested interest in a man who coached before they were born; a man who coached before their coach was born! When you witness or experience moments like that, you begin to realize that John Wooden truly was a special man. You also begin to understand why Coach Wooden said, "what you are as a person is far more important than what you are as a basketball player."
If you have never read a book about John Wooden, I strongly encourage you to do so. His lessons are life lessons. There is a reason that so many businesses use Coach Wooden's Pyramid of Success as the foundation of their corporations. His methods and teachings may seem like common sense, but I challenge you to try and live by them for one week. As a Christian rapper I know once said, "if you think meekness is weak just try being meek for a week." It's not as easy as it sounds, but I guarantee that if you honestly attempt to live by John Wooden's simple principles you'll find your life will never be the same.
