PART III
MAINTAINING THE COMPETITIVE EDGE
PRESEASON LETTER TO THE TEAM
JULY 26, 1970
Your race or religion will have no bearing on my judgment, but your ability and how it works into my philosophy of team play very definitely will. Furthermore, your personal conduct and adherence to standards that I make undoubtedly will be taken into consideration, either consciously or subconsciously.
SELECT MOST CAREFULLY
I don’t believe a leader has the power to magically instill character into people who don’t have it. By the time they arrive at your doorstep, it’s usually too late.
A father would ask, “Coach Wooden, will you be able to teach my son character?” My answer was no.
While I could nourish and test his character, give the young man a chance to show character, I was not able to instill character where it didn’t exist.
Your ability to choose solid individuals is important. One bad apple is one more than most barrels can stand.
THE CHARACTER QUESTIONNAIRE
I sought players who had character, not those who were characters. How do you know the difference?
During my years as head coach at UCLA, most of our student-athletes came from Los Angeles County and Southern California—near our campus. I was aware of top players in the area from newspapers or phone calls from their family, friends, or the high school coach.
While newspapers provided statistics—top scorers, for example—they didn’t give me information in the area of personal qualities such as character.
So, if I thought a player had potential, I sent his high school coach a questionnaire. I began this practice in the 1950s.
Equally important, I sent a questionnaire to five other coaches whose teams had competed against the student-athlete in question. Obviously, I knew many of these local coaches, and they were willing to assist.
WHAT CAN’T BE TAUGHT
GAIL GOODRICH
UCLA Varsity, 1963–1965 two national championships
John Wooden recruited for character and quickness. They were up right there at the top. Maybe Coach felt those two things couldn’t be taught. You had to have them already.
I asked each coach to rank the student-athlete in the following areas on a scale of 1 to 10. Generally the questions were judgment calls and unrelated to statistics. Statistics I could get out of the newspapers. Here’s a sampling of the questions and qualities I was interested in:
1. Attitude
2. Hustle
3. Cooperativeness
4. Unselfishness
5. Team player
6. Quickness
7. Aggressiveness
8. Timeliness (being on time when time is involved)
9. Personal habits
10. Getting along with teammates
When I received the rankings back from the coaches, I would then make a composite of each category. This gave me a very clear picture of the player’s performance in fundamentally important areas.
I would also check school transcripts to find out about grades, extracurricular activities, attendance, or disciplinary problems.
I wanted to know about their parents—divorced, churchgoing, employed (what sort of job). Was the young man a single child? (This was important because I felt that a single child might not be used to sharing with others. The willingness to share was almost as important to me as the ability to make a basket.)
This character questionnaire was very reliable. I can’t recall an instance in which the composite failed to provide me an accurate assessment of the individual’s strengths and weaknesses in areas other than statistics.
Those other areas are crucial and too often minimized when the statistics are impressive.
HOW TO INFLUENCE THE FUTURE
Preseason Letter to the Team
1972, following the eighth national title
I must caution you that you cannot live in the past. The 1971–1972 season is now history, and we must look toward the future. The past cannot change what is to come. The work that you do each and every day is the only true way to improve and prepare yourself for what is to come. You cannot change the past, and you can influence the future only by what you do today.
THE WILL TO WIN
How do you spot a true competitor—that unique individual who possesses a special quality called the will to win? Easy. The competitor with the will to win also has the will to work.
The will to work is easy to spot because it’s visible each and every day. It’s right in front of you. A great competitor will never cease working hard to be the best that he or she can be. He or she has the will to work.
FOUR VALUES OF RESPECT
1. Respect for others
2. Respect for sincerity
3. Respect for loyalty
4. Respect for time
RECRUIT THE WAY THE MARINES DO IT
My son, Jim, joined the Marines when he was a young man. I was proud of him, but I also noticed the Marines didn’t sweeten their sales pitch for Jim or anybody else. Hard work, long hours, tough duty, extreme situations, and more were what they offered. All of this to find “a few good men” who wanted to be part of a great team.
Of course, this is a very sound screening device for attracting the right kind of person—the individual eager to pay the necessary price to become a member of that kind of organization.
Dead Tired
KAREEM ABDUL-JABBAR (LEWIS ALCINDOR, JR.)
UCLA Varsity, 1967–1969 three national championships
The intensity of the practice was the same intensity as a game. We did everything at top speed without any break for rest. The first six weeks of practice, I’d come back to the dorm, and I couldn’t do my homework. I was too tired. I’d have to take a nap for two or three hours and then get up and do my homework at 1 a.m.
Those who applied for membership, who wanted to be part of the team, were not looking for the easy way. They knew it would be tough going and accepted it, even welcomed it.
Unintentionally, I had been doing something similar in my own recruiting. No sweet talk or big promises. Playing time, trophies, or titles were never, ever mentioned. The one big promise I made to candidates was that if they came to UCLA and paid attention, they’d get a very good education.
Over the years I think my approach screened out many individuals who may have been ill-suited for my system. This saved everybody a lot of time. In its own way, my approach had some resemblance to that of the Marine Corps.
SEEK THOSE WHO SEEK CHALLENGE
I wanted players who welcomed the severe rigors imposed on them in practice. I said, “If you want to get out of practice, just tell me. That’s all you have to do. I’ll let you out of practice. We don’t want you here unless you really want to work. Stay home. If you’re not sure you’d like to be here, I want you to stay home.”
Of course, nobody stayed home. The message I was sending simply alerted them to be prepared for very hard work. And to do it without complaint.
I didn’t want to have individuals among us who were reluctant to extend themselves mentally and physically. Rather, I sought those who welcomed the rigors required for competitive greatness.
By and large, my selection process ensured this result.
THE KILLER INSTINCT
Teams under my supervision were tough under pressure; that is, as a rule they didn’t break down, get rattled, or succumb to nerves. Let me offer a possible explanation.
Good conditioning, talent, and a strong grasp of fundamentals by all members of our team were part of it. However, these characteristics are common to many groups, and they still stumble when it counts.
In my opinion, our team’s ability to perform consistently near its highest level of competency in tight situations came in large part from my philosophy—that is, my definition—of success.
Of the many things I taught, it was perhaps at the top of my list: “Success is peace of mind, which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to become the best that you are capable of becoming.”
Every member of our team understood this was my highest grading standard. Not the score, not titles, not winning a championship. Rather, “Be able to hold your head high because you made the effort to do your best.”
When those on your team accept this idea—not just accept it but really believe it—they are in complete control of their success because the quality of their effort is up to them. It’s not up to the opponent, fans, the media, or anybody else. We may not control the outcome, but we can control the input—our effort.
Thus, in a critical situation, fear of losing, the outcome, and the nervousness it produces are minimized. In fact, for me both as a player and a coach, nerves didn’t exist. I believe I instilled the same steadiness to a large degree in our players.
A talented and well-trained team embracing my philosophy is fearless and goes into battle fiercely dedicated to giving its total effort. Its members will not break down, get rattled, or succumb because of nerves. These team members will deliver; they will get the job done.
Some call it killer instinct. I prefer to call it competitive greatness.
THE DOWNSIDE OF TALENT
At the highest levels of corporate competition as well as sports, you must have real talent on your team to win. All leaders know this. What many don’t know is how to win with talented personnel.
One of the reasons for this is not immediately evident: the more talented the individual, the more difficult it can be to teach that person how to be a team player.
Look around and you see it in sports—organizations that can’t seem to win because the superstar is a team of one rather than one member of a team.
The same is true in business. You’re just less likely to read about it in the newspapers.
Finding real talent is tough. Getting that talent to sacrifice for the welfare of your team can be even tougher. For me, the solution was simple. I never forgot that a great player who couldn’t make the team great wasn’t so great after all.
ASK THE CORRECT QUESTION
A team has a certain potential. Nevertheless, simply being a team—a group of individuals wearing the same uniform or working at the same company—means little when it comes to realizing its potential.
Here’s the question to be asked: “We are many, but are we much?” The role of a leader is to make those “many” become “much.”
THE TEAM IS MY FIRST CONSIDERATION
Letter to the Team 1971
The coach must be far more interested in the overall welfare of the team rather than any single individual player and, therefore, must be as certain as possible in the decisions that must be made in regard to the selection of the players and their proper use. I will be the one who is eventually hurt the most by poor or improper judgment in those respects. Many of you will disagree over various decisions, but you must not permit your disagreement to become cancerous and affect your effort to make the most of your abilities.
DISPLAY QUIET CONFIDENCE
A winning attitude permeates most successful organizations. Arrogance is not a winning attitude; it’s a losing attitude because it can so easily set the stage for failure.
Quiet and calm confidence is a productive—winning—attitude. It is the feeling that you are preparing—or have prepared—properly and thoroughly.
Attitude too often is the feeling that you no longer need to prepare and improve. In my opinion, you are already the loser when this occurs.
Team members do not necessarily arrive with quiet confidence; they get it from the one in charge—the leader.
Quiet confidence is contagious. Unfortunately, so is arrogance.
STAY ON TOP
The way an individual accepts success is a pretty good test of who you are—a part of your character. This is true whether you are the leader or a member of the team.
If you’re content when you reach a goal—satisfied when you get to the top—you will lose the desire to continue to improve; you will believe that past success will occur in the future without even greater effort; you will stop listening and learning.
All this is common and explains why great achievers often achieve greatness only once.
I told those under my supervision: Talent may get you to the top, but it takes character to stay there. One important aspect of character is the ceaseless desire to improve.
STAY WITH THOSE WHO SHARE THE BALL
Styles change; systems change; leaders change; rules change. People? They don’t change. One of the things that hasn’t changed in humans is an innate selfishness—putting themselves first.
In sports this shows up with individuals who put personal statistics ahead of team success, who’ll take a low percentage shot instead of passing the ball to an open teammate: selfishness.
Those under your supervision must be taught that they will succeed only to the degree to which they help their team succeed. For this to occur, they must be eager to assist others, to share the “ball”: information, contacts, experience, credit, and ideas.
Smart leaders understand in both sports and business that a ball hog hurts the team.
Those that pass the ball selflessly are the brand of player that helps a team to win.
THE LEADER’S TO-DO LIST
1. Promote sincerity, optimism, and enthusiasm.
2. Stamp out pessimism and negative sarcasm.
3. Recognize the value of a valid commendation.
4. When disagreeing, do not become disagreeable.
5. Make sure each person understands his or her specific role in making the team a success.
REMEMBER THE SORE FOOT
You may not be able to run as fast as somebody else, but that shouldn’t prevent you from trying to run as fast as you can.
Prior to the race, plan, prepare, and practice to execute at your highest level. And then, even if you’re not the fastest runner in the field, try your hardest to run your best race.
Who knows? On race day your opponent may have a sore foot.
IGNORE THE PAST
Letter to the Team 1970
It has been almost four months since our basketball season came to a close. It was a very successful season [UCLA had won its sixth national championship in seven years], but it is now history and we must look toward the future.
The past cannot change what is to come. It is what you do today that counts, and I sincerely hope that you are looking forward to an outstanding 1970–1971 season and are eager, not just willing, to make the necessary personal sacrifices to reach that goal. All worthwhile accomplishments require sacrifice and hard work.
EVERY PLAYER COUNTS
Every role counts; every role player is important. Each team member must take pride in his or her job. The leader is the one who teaches pride, especially to those whose roles may be less prominent.
At UCLA a nonstarter needed to know that his job included helping the starter become a better player. This is not a glamorous job, but neither is the work of a clerk, phone operator, or laborer. Most jobs aren’t glamorous. (In my opinion, being a head coach isn’t glamorous.)
Role players must understand that their jobs count—that they contribute in a meaningful manner to the success of their team.
I don’t believe there are any small jobs or inconsequential roles on an efficient and productive team. There are only those few who think their job is small or their role inconsequential. A leader must change the person’s thinking—or change the person.
FOUR CLUES TO WINNING
1. Hard work and good luck travel together.
2. The competition always deserves respect.
3. Hustle can make up for mistakes; haste creates them.
4. Seek character, not characters.
THE OVERLOOKED AWARD
At UCLA we had several awards, including Most Valuable Player, the Bruin Bench Award. Perhaps the award that counted most, however, got little public notice. That reward was my quick personal recognition—acknowledgment—for effort and a job done very well, especially the little jobs and tasks of execution that are so important.
My nods of approval and winks of acknowledgment were not given casually or without cause. Those I allowed to join our team were chosen because they were talented; I expected them to be very good. But when one or more showed something special—rose above being “very good”—in effort or improvement during practice, I let them know with a quick nod or wink.
Those you lead are thirsty for your approval. Don’t wait until the end of the quarter to give it. When you see someone on your team doing a great job, let that person know right away. It only takes a second.
This is especially true for those with less visible roles. A nod of approval or note of appreciation can mean as much to them as the MVP award means to your top producer.
PREPARE UNSELFISHLY
Preseason Letter to the Team
1964
For maximum team accomplishment, each individual must prepare himself to the best of his ability and then put his talents to work for the team. This must be done unselfishly, without thought of personal glory. When no one worries about who will receive the credit, far more can be accomplished in any group activity.
PROMOTE SPIRIT OVER TEMPERAMENT
I like spirited players—young men with energy, hustle, and “fight” who put the team first.
I did not welcome those who were temperamental, whose moods were up and down, or who second-guessed, griped, and groused about everything.
Spirited performers are easy to work with—productive and consistent. Not so their temperamental counterparts.
The same is true for leadership. Spirited leaders are more effective and much more productive than those who are constantly tripping over their own moods.
GO GET THE BALL!
I want it this way: “Go get the ball!” That’s the attitude I want to see. “Go get the ball!” That’s the positive approach.
That’s what gets something done on and off the court. Don’t wait for things to happen. While you’re sitting around waiting, somebody else will “go get the ball!”
And then what? Suddenly you’re playing catch-up.
COACH LOMBARDI’S PASSION
One of the greatest coaches in history and a man for whom I have respect, Vince Lombardi, is viewed by many as having been an emotional leader, often raging at players and officials. His temper became famous, yet he enjoyed consistent success.
I am asked, “Coach Wooden, doesn’t this fly in the face of your admonitions about emotionalism—being taken over by passion at the expense of performance?”
I am reluctant to judge anyone from afar, but let me suggest the following: Coach Lombardi rarely lost control. Appearances aside, I believe he knew exactly what he was doing and why he was doing it. That’s the key—control or lack thereof.
Coach Lombardi may have simply been a very fine actor. (Acting is sometimes overlooked as a leadership tool.) But I don’t believe he was a leader who lacked self-control.
Anger, disgust, jubilation, or whatever other emotions you might feel become counterproductive when they lead to a lack of self-control and personal discipline.
I WILL NOT DECEIVE YOU
Preseason Letter to the Team
1967
If I do not feel there is a place where you can contribute, I would not want you to waste your time, and if you do not feel that you are a part of the team as a whole, then you should drop out. Although I prefer to go too far with a player rather than not far enough, I will drop you when I feel certain that you are wasting your time.
THE SOUND OF ENTHUSIASM
Don’t judge enthusiasm by how loudly somebody talks. Bill Walton’s enthusiasm was bubbling over. On the other hand, if you looked at Lewis Alcindor (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar), you’d think he had no enthusiasm at all. He was quiet, almost stoic.
Kareem was just as enthusiastic as Bill; he just didn’t make as much noise. Noise is not necessarily enthusiasm. Sometimes it is; sometimes it isn’t.
An effective leader knows the difference.
DON’T MAKE ACTIVITY YOUR LITMUS TEST
I’ve had some candidates over the years who were quick as could be—all over the court like water bugs. Seeing someone like that, you might think, “He’s the straw that stirs the drink.”
However, if you studied him, you’d see that nothing was being stirred; nothing was getting done. He would force things, overrun, shoot too quickly, back and forth, here and there. Busy, busy, busy. Lots of activity, but accomplishing nothing.
I value enthusiasm and prize initiative. Both, however, must be directed to a productive end: Accomplish something! Otherwise, it’s like a very young child who’s just learned how to walk—running around full of energy but going nowhere.
Similarly, those under your leadership can be very active and still do nothing. Do not mistake activity for achievement.
THE GREATNESS OF SECOND BEST
I have often said that Lewis Alcindor (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) was the most valuable player I ever coached. By this I mean that because of his height and reach, competitiveness, and mental skills, he forced the opposition to change its game more drastically than anyone else I coached.
I have also said that an injury-free Bill Walton might be the greatest center I ever coached—perhaps the greatest in college basketball history, and that includes Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain.
By this I mean if you made a composite of skills—passing, free throws, scoring, assists, rebounds, and more—Bill Walton would perhaps not be a clear number 1 in any single category, but he was number 2 in all categories. At least, in my opinion.
Being number 2 is greatly discounted in this country. All that matters is being number 1. When you find an individual who is number 2 in the categories that count, you have found someone for your organization with potential for greatness.
LEADERSHIP IS BALANCE
Although a good argument could be made for the attributes “experience,” “concentration,” “skill,” and the like, it is possible that the simple personal characteristic of “balance” is the most important for a leader and team.
From a mental point of view, balance means keeping all things in perspective, maintaining self-control, and avoiding excessive highs or lows that occur because of luck or misfortune. Balance means not permitting the things over which you have no control to adversely affect the things over which you do have control, and it means retaining your poise during times of turmoil and triumph.
These areas of balance are invaluable in leadership because they enable you to keep winning and losing, ups and downs, in perspective.
If the final score—the bottom line—means everything, if it has become all consuming, then you are heading down a dark path. This type of imbalance is not uncommon with ambitious and competitive individuals in any walk of life.
I personally know of coaches at high levels with superb records who suffered nervous breakdowns trying to match their previous achievements, who were obsessed with one thing and one thing alone: winning. They lost balance in their lives, and then they lost everything.
That philosophy—winning is everything—will ultimately become unproductive, even destructive. Prize and strive for mental and emotional balance in all areas of your life. The better your balance, the better your leadership.
DO WHAT IS BEST FOR YOUR TEAM
Letter to the Team 1965
You must discipline yourself to do what is expected of you for the welfare of the team. The coach has many decisions to make, and you will not agree with all of them, but you must respect and accept them. Without supervision and leadership and a disciplined effort by all, much of our united strength will be dissipated pulling against ourselves. Let us not be victimized by a breakdown from within.
DON’T STIFLE INITIATIVE
I don’t believe in tying down individuals so rigidly that I might hurt their own initiative in any way.
Initiative is a wonderful thing unless it becomes an excuse for selfishness. Then I don’t want initiative, and you have to curb it at that point. But, until then, I want to see it.
Sidney Wicks had great initiative as a player during his sophomore year. Unfortunately, it was directed at figuring out ways for Sidney to keep the ball until he could shoot. His initiative did not involve the rest of our team. That’s selfishness.
Sitting on the bench watching players who weren’t selfish cured Sidney of this sort of initiative. Soon thereafter he helped UCLA win two national championships and was one of the greatest college players in America.
He had figured out how to use his initiative in ways that were not selfish. Sidney became great when he became selfless.
SIX RULES FOR CREATING AN EFFECTIVE TEAM
1. Consider team spirit and morale.
2. Be alert to spot the good competitors and the poor ones.
3. Be alert for potential troublemakers and get rid of them.
4. Give each individual a fair chance and every opportunity he or she earns.
5. Consider fight, determination, courage, and desire.
6. Look for cooperation and good attitude.
IGNORE PRAISE AND CRITICISM
The strength of one’s character is, in part, revealed by how you respond to both praise and criticism.
I warned players, “Do not let either praise or criticism affect you. Let it wash off.” They would nod in understanding as I continued: “If it changes you—praise or criticism—it means you’re vulnerable, weak. Praise or criticism, let it wash off.”
As they again nodded in agreement, I added this footnote: “Unless it comes from me—the praise and criticism. Then it better not wash off.”
ACCOUNTABILITY IS KEY
One of my tasks included teaching members of our team to assume personal responsibility for their success. Ultimately, it wasn’t up to me. Success or failure was in their hands; it was up to them. This area of responsibility went beyond the basketball court.
I posted this note on the team bulletin board:
There is a choice you have to make,
In everything you do.
So keep in mind that in the end,
The choice you make, makes you.
Perhaps I could have added this final line: “The choice you make also makes our team.”
All that we accomplished each day in the gym could be quickly undone by poor decisions off the court. I wanted them to understand that their behavior away from the gym affected their performance at the gym and in games.
Good decision making in their lives was necessary when I wasn’t around to blow the whistle. Otherwise, varying degrees of failure were certain.
TRUST BEGETS TRUST
Abraham Lincoln’s words are worth remembering: “It is better to trust and occasionally be disappointed than to mistrust and be miserable all the time.”
Gather together good people; teach them; train them. And then have courage enough to trust them to do what they’re supposed to do.
Trust begets trust. Yours begets theirs. Be brave enough to trust, and it will be returned.
LET THEM DO THE JOB
Once a game began, I felt my job as coach and teacher should be virtually complete and that I could go into the
ON OUR OWN
BILL MOORE
South Bend Central High School, 1942
Coach Wooden limited his coaching to the halftime and pregame practice session. Once the game started, we were on our own. He would seldom criticize our game play without making constructive, workable suggestions on how we could improve.
stands and watch without having to give constant instructions from the bench—micromanaging.
I wanted those under my supervision to assume responsibility for doing their job, and I told them the following: “Don’t be looking over at me for help or I’ll put somebody in who knows what to do.”
Those you lead are there to do a job. Let them.
CREATE A GOOD ENVIRONMENT
I did not want to be an ogre, but I did want to create an environment for the team that was the most conducive to progress. Thus, I insisted on punctuality and proper dress and grooming for practice and meetings. For example, I wanted individuals to practice with their shirt-tails tucked in, their socks pulled up—to have a neat, clean appearance.
For me, timeliness, orderliness, courtesy, and other such simple ingredients help establish an atmosphere where improvement is likely.
In the early years when we practiced at the old Men’s Gym—a facility that was poorly maintained, dusty, and dirty—my manager and I swept and mopped the basketball court ourselves before each practice. I wanted a clean and safe surface for our players.
The environment you create for your organization determines, in part, whether it succeeds. I went to great lengths to ensure that our workplace would produce the best results.
YOUR SOURCE OF STRENGTH
Preseason Letter to the Team
1927
There is much truth in Kipling’s Law of the Jungle, where he says, “The strength of the pack is the wolf, and the strength of the wolf is the pack.” If you discipline yourself toward team effort under the supervision of the coach, even though you may not always agree with my decision, much can and will be accomplished. As someone once said, “You will be amazed at how much can be accomplished if no one cares who gets the credit.”
2 + 2 = 6
Seldom do the best players make the best team. I sought the right combination of players—that mixture of individuals who worked best together and created the most productive team.
I tried to put a team together that was greater than the sum of the individual players.
GOOD CHEMISTRY IS KEY
Andre McCarter was not the best guard I ever coached. Nor was Pete Trgovich. However, together they were probably the best defensive pair of guards I ever had.
Each increased the effectiveness of the other, and together they greatly increased the performance of the whole team in the 1974–1975 season. They had much influence on our winning the national championship. Andre and Pete had the right chemistry.
Many years earlier Walt Hazzard, Gail Goodrich, Keith Erickson, Jack Hirsch, Fred Slaughter, Kenny Washington, Doug McIntosh, and their teammates—national champions in 1964—were perhaps not the best team I ever coached.
However, when it came to togetherness on the court—spirited cohesion—they were unsurpassed by any group I ever had. Again, they had the right chemistry.
A leader looks for individuals whose abilities, personalities, and attitudes enhance and ignite one another.
If all you’re looking at is “Who’s the best talent?” you may overlook “What’s the best team?”
I value talent, and I was always looking for a great player. But even more I was looking for the player, or combination of players, who could make the team great. That was my goal: a great team rather than just a team with some great players.
PLAY TALL
I had a very clear request of those I taught: Give me complete commitment and total effort.
An individual who is willing to deliver those two powerful assets to your team is a prized player whether he’s seven foot two or two foot seven.
Many times I reminded those I coached, “I don’t care how tall you are. I care how tall you play.”
STRIVE TO ATTAIN IT
There is no such thing as an overachiever. We are all under achievers to different degrees. No one has ever achieved anything he or she wasn’t capable of.
Whatever you have accomplished, you could have accomplished more. Whatever you have done, you could have done it better.
A leader’s job is to teach others how to do more, how to do it better, and how to come closer and closer to 100 percent of their own potential.
We cannot achieve perfection, but we can strive to attain it. That’s the idea I had in my head throughout my career.
MY DOOR IS OPEN
Preseason Letter to the Team
1972
Come in and talk to me whenever you feel like it, but please remember that it isn’t necessarily lack of communication if we fail to agree on your position or the position of another individual on the team. I am and will always be interested in your problems, but I do feel that everyone should do everything possible to work out their own problems rather than become dependent upon others. I have found prayer most helpful when I am troubled, and I believe that all prayers are heard and answered, even though the answer may be “no.”
MY MESSAGE ON TEAM UNITY
No chain is stronger than its weakest link. No team is stronger than its weakest member. We must be “all for one and one for all,” with each of us giving his best every second of every game and practice.
The team is first; individual credit is second. We have no place for selfishness, egotism, or envy.
I want a team of fighters afraid of no club; not cocky, not conceited; a team that plays hard, plays fair, and always tries its best.
Others may be faster than you are, larger than you are, and have far more ability than you have—but no one should ever be your superior in team spirit, fight, determination, ambition, and character.
Have confidence in your team’s ability, and your team will be plenty tough to whip.
HOLD YOUR HEAD HIGH
Just before our team took to the court before a game, including the 10 to decide a national championship, these were my final words to the players: “Make sure you can hold your head high after this game.” They all knew I wasn’t talking about the final score.
I did not say it as a fiery exhortation, but with all the seriousness and sincerity I had in me. It was the most important message our players could take with them into the battle: “Do your best. That is success.”
Believing that simple truth gave us tremendous strength. Teaching it gave me tremendous satisfaction.
THE WAY OF WOODEN
KEITH ERICKSON
UCLA Varsity, 1963–1965 two national championships
A Genius for Knowing What Makes You Tick
What made Coach Wooden so effective as a leader was his ability to work with every type of person—different temperaments, personalities, styles, and all the rest. He knew how to get them to do it his way, and this included people who were total opposites.
UCLA’s Gail Goodrich and Walt Hazzard were the greatest combination of guards in the history of college basketball;the best twosome ever, in my opinion. But they were totally different guys.
With Gail, Coach would come up and sort of cajole him, put his arm around him and low-key it—offer a quiet suggestion, a little compliment. Then he’d give him a pat on the back and walk away. He knew that Gail wouldn’t react to sharp criticism; it would hurt his play.
Coach knew a stronger approach worked with Walt. There was no mincing words. He’d say very firmly, “Walt, if you do that again, you’re out of here.” And if Walt did it again, he’d hear Coach say, “O.K., that’s it. Take a shower.” Not with any anger, just very stern.
He was so smart in administering discipline, avoiding backing himself into a corner. So with Walt, he’d say, “If you do that again. . . .” He didn’t want Walt taking a shower before practice was concluded, so he gave him a chance or two to correct the problem. Walt knew he could get away with a little, but not much.
Coach treated each one of us the way we needed to be treated, the way that worked best for each person. Coach believed or understood that no two of us were alike. His understanding of people and how to work with each player individually was evident in practice every day. With me there was no cajoling. He knew a sharp remark would have a positive effect. And I got ’em.
Always Coach Wooden emphasized playing together as a team, a unit, a single group. That was all important, everything.
Our team in 1964—the one that won a national championship—wasn’t buddy-buddy off the court, but on the court you’d think we loved each other because there was such camaraderie and selflessness.
Coach Wooden acted as a scout master, den mother, surrogate parent, a second father, drill sergeant—and a man. He was tough as nails, and yet he showed this great love for his wife and kids—his family. To have a coach who was so tough—strong—who loved his wife so much . . . well, it affected my thinking of him. It really brought out respect. He got this great respect from us. And he gave it back.
We got treated like part of the family. Kenny Washington, whose own family lived on the other side of the country, was invited over to the Woodens for holiday dinners so he wouldn’t be alone. And there were others.
John Wooden knew what worked for each one of us. He understood what made us tick.