John Wooden
John Wooden
John Robert Woodenwas an American basketball player and coach. Nicknamed the "Wizard of Westwood," as head coach at UCLA he won ten NCAA national championships in a 12-year period, including a record seven in a row. No other team has won more than two in a row. Within this period, his teams won a men's basketball-record 88 consecutive games. Wooden was named national coach of the year six times...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionCoach
Date of Birth14 October 1910
CountryUnited States of America
The team with the most talent usually wins.
The time to prepare isn't after you have been given the opportunity. It's long before that opportunity arises. Once the opportunity arrives, it's too late to prepare.
Winning games, titles and championships isn't all it's cracked up to be, but getting there, the journey, is a lot more than it's cracked up to be.
As I grow older, I appreciate things that I didn’t appreciate much when I was younger. I am thankful more than I used to be. I’ve been reasonably healthy, and I feel blessed. And each morning I can think, this is going to be a good day!
When you hurry you're more apt to make mistakes. But you have to be quick. If you're not quick you can't get things done.
You cannot attain and maintain physical condition unless you are morally and mentally conditioned. And it is impossible to be in moral condition unless you are spiritually conditioned. I always told my players that our team condition depended on two factors / how hard they worked on the floor during practice and how well they behaved between practices.
For an athlete to function properly, he must be intent. There has to be a definite purpose and goal if you are to progress. If you are not intent about what you are doing, you aren't able to resist the temptation to do something else that might be more fun at the moment.
I talked to the players and tried to make them aware of what was good and bad, but I didn't try to run their lives.
If I were a young coach today, I would be extremely careful in selecting assistants.
I found golf was too time consuming, but I did enjoy it.
I like to spend time in the past, with the things that have been important to me.
Approval is a greater motivator than disapproval, but we have to disapprove on occasion when we correct. It’s necessary. I make corrections only after I have proved to the individual that I highly value him. If they know we care for them, our correction won’t be seen as judgmental. I also try to never make it personal.
Defense is a definite part of the game, and a great part of defense is learning to play it without fouling.
Passion is temporary. It doesn't last long. Love is enduring. And that's the important thing. If we all had love in our lives to the degree that we should, it would be much happier.