A Winning Legend

“Success comes from knowing that you did your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming.” - John Wooden

I’ve Been Thinking. . . about a winning legend who impacted countless lives.

Here’s a trivia question. What basketball coach won 10 March Madness national championships in 12 years; 7 national championships in a row; 23 Pacific-10 championships; an 88 game winning streak; 4 perfect 30-0 seasons; a 38-game winning streak in national championship tournament play; 12 Final Four appearances in 14 years?

The answer is the Wizard of Westwood – Coach John Wooden.

John Wooden was born in Indiana in 1910. Wooden was a good student and outstanding athlete, leading his high school basketball team to a state championship in 1927. He continued his athletic and academic success at Purdue University. It’s no surprise that he was named three times to the All-American team and in his senior year, led the Boilermakers to a national championship.

Wooden earned a masters degree at Indiana State Teachers College and then became a high school basketball coach in Kentucky and Indiana. His coaching career was interrupted by a stint in the military after the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

His college coaching career began at Indiana State Teachers College where his teams achieved a 47 and 14 won-lost record. National recognition soon followed and he was eventually offered a position with the University of California—Los Angeles at its Westwood campus. This is where he began writing basketball history and where John Wooden became a coaching legend.

Coach Wooden died recently at the age of 99. With all due respect to every great basketball coach, in my heart Coach Wooden was the greatest coach in history. I grew up loving the game of basketball and Coach Wooden represented everything that was great about the game.

He was a fabulous leader, master team builder and maximizer of people potential. His winning record as a coach may never be matched and yet he never preached or talked about the need to win.

You would learn from coach Wooden’s website, PBS presentation and every book written about him that his number one priority was making the complete effort to do the best you are capable of doing. Coach Wooden believed each person’s effort to realize their potential counted first and foremost.

His standard appeals to me. Think how many games would be won, projects completed, books written, relationships built and achievements realized if people fervently pursued their best in every endeavor. There is no doubt Coach Wooden wanted to win but he never allowed the end result to be the ultimate measure. It was all about what his players became as a result of the experience.

This may all sound rather idealistic or it could appear to be a simple life endeavor. But think about it - Be the best you can be in every situation.

Mr. Wooden’s father frequently reminded him: “Never try to be better than somebody else, but never cease trying to be the best you can be. You have control over that. Not the other.” What a wonderful life lesson.

Wooden heeded his father’s advice and considered this a fundamental quality of success. His clear and practical life wisdom established personal characteristics and behavior standards that inspired people to go beyond who and what they were. Here are some of my favorite pieces of wisdom I’ve accumulated over several years of following John Wooden’s career:

1. How to behave when things don’t go your way – “Don’t whine. Don’t complain. Don’t make excuses.”

2. A person’s character was paramount to Coach Wooden. He frequently reminded his players: “What you are as a person is far more important that what you are as a basketball player.” He added: “Talent may get you to the top, but it takes character to stay there.” And ultimately; “Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.”

3. Be enthusiastic about your work. “Without enthusiasm, you cannot work up to your fullest ability and potential; you’re just going through the motions.” Going through the motions certainly won’t bring about too many winning experiences.

4. How about failure? “If you are afraid to fail, you will never do the things you are capable of doing. If you have thoroughly prepared and are ready to give it all you’ve got, there is no shame if you fail – nothing to fear in failure.”


5. “Perfection is impossible, but we must constantly strive for less imperfection.” He also had this to say about perfection: “Perfection is impossible. Capitalizing on imperfection – mistakes – makes all the difference.”

6. How about teamwork? “Do nothing that will bring discredit to the team.” That is powerful.

7. Personal behavior. Coach Wooden wrote a preseason letter to his team each year. Here is an excerpt from his 1966 letter. “Accept the fact that neatness, cleanliness, politeness, and good manners are qualities that you should acquire and cultivate just as much as the ability to properly execute the fundamental of the game of basketball.”

8. Approach to life. “The past is for reference; the future for dreamers; the present moment is where you create success.” I love that quote. Wooden was an adamant believer that we can influence the future by what we do today and that the past cannot change what is to come. Powerful stuff!

9. Coach had strong feelings about how we should treat other people. Here’s a gem: “Consider the rights of others before your own feelings, and the feelings of others before your own rights.”

10. Here’s what it was all about for Mr. Wooden. “Material possessions, winning scores, and great reputations are meaningless in the eyes of the Lord, because He knows what we really are and that is all that matters.” Amen!

“Be yourself – no posing or pretense; be comfortable in your own skin; avoid judging yourself in comparison to others; and hold fast to your principles and ideals.” - John Wooden

Sources: The Essential Wooden; http://www.coachwooden.com/; Wooden: A Lifetime of Observations and Reflections; and Wooden on Leadership.