Coach Wooden's "People Blocks"

Between Coach Wooden's two "Cornerstone" blocks in his "Pyramid", he included his "People Blocks." Coach Wooden said that it is easier to reach our potential when we learn the value of including others in our quest. His three "People Blocks" are "Friendship," "Loyalty," and "Cooperation."

FRIENDSHIP
"Friendship comes from mutual esteem and devotion. God created us to be interdependent. We were not designed to go through life alone."

LOYALTY
"Loyalty is the foundational quality that gets us through hard times. Will we compromise our integrity when temptation is great? Or will we remain loyal to our beliefs and core values?"

"Loyalty is the force that forges individuals into a team. It's the component that moves teams toward great achievements."

COOPERATION
"Cooperation in working with others for the benefit of all."

When Coach Wooden was a young boy, he learned two important lessons by watching his father talk calmly to a team of horses trying to pull a load up a steep hill:
1) Gentleness is a better method of getting cooperation than harshness is, and,
2) A team can accomplish more when it works together than individuals can when they work alone.

Coach Wooden on Industriousness

Coach Wooden defined his first Building Block of his "Pyramid of Success," Industriousness (or Hard Work), as having two components - work and planning.

"There is no substitute for hard work. If we only put out a minimum effort we might get by in some situations, but in the long run we won't fully develop the talents that lie within us."

"During my tenure in Westwood, I never took an extended break after the season was over...I would begin research on some aspect of the sport. I would talk with other coaches, read books and examine every angle...My research would last for the entire off-season."

This passion that Coach Wooden had is one that I have truly learned to value. I love the preparation of a season and talking with other coaches and learning from them. Not enough value is placed on learning new aspects of the game, particularly by younger coaches. Everyone should be willing to share their knowledge for the betterment of the game and for kids!

"Good planning and hard work lead to prosperity, but hasty shortcuts lead to poverty (Proverbs 21:5).

The passing of the Great John Wooden last week made me, like so many others, reflect on his teachings about basketball and life. One of my first memories of Coach Wooden's impact on the game came as a young child visiting the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in New Castle, Indiana. There is, and may still be, an exhibit with an electronic image of Coach Wooden teaching his team his definition of success. I still have, to this day, a copy of the "Pyramid of Success" that I picked up on one of those early visits to the HOF.

In honor of Coach Wooden, I am going to run a series of blogs on some great things that I have picked up from Coach Wooden, mostly from "Coach Wooden's Pyramid of Success: Building Blocks For a Better Life," a great book about the "Pyramid" by Coach Wooden and his writing partner Jay Carty.

Coach Wooden defined success based on a teaching from his Father and from a poem. Here they are:

What He Learned from His Father...
1. Don't try to be better than anyone else.
2. Always try to be the best you can be.

The Poem...
At God's footstool to confess,
A poor soul knelt and bowed his head.
"I failed," he cried. The Master said,
"Thou didst thy best, that is success."

These wise words were the premise for Coach Wooden's famous definition of success, which he first wrote in 1934...
"Success is peace of mind that is the direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming."

Xavier Women's Basketball Shooting System

These are thoughts from Xavier Women's Assistant Mike Neighbors on the shooting system they use in their program...

- They always want game shots from game spots at game speeds. In any drill, they will emphasize at least one of these.

- They use a specific emphasis on each shooting drill - i.e. good footwork, good positioning, making the shot.

- They use simulation in their shooting drills - simulating a defense, a screen, setting a screen, etc.

- Chart and record. Makes it competitive and kids like personal records.

- Variation of skills and drills - This keeps intensity levels high. "Repetition without being repetitious"