Advice from John Wooden's Father

I've become quite a collector of old books about basketball philosophy. There is a second edition of John Wooden's They Call Me Coach that was published in 2003 but I was fortunate to recently come across a copy of the 1971 original.

In They Call Me Coach, Coach Wooden refers to a creed that his father, Joshua, gave him when he graduated from grade school in Centerton, Indiana. (Centerton is a mere 15 miles from where my mom and dad live.) While the book was certainly not the only place that Wooden referred to tbis creed, they are words that could be applied to all of us.

Joshua Wooden wrote this on a piece of paper, which Coach Wooden would carry with him in his wallet throughout his life.

1. Be true to yourself.
2. Make each day your masterpiece.
3. Help others.
4. Drink deeply from good books, especially the Bible.
5. Make friendship a fine art.
6. Build a shelter against a rainy day.
7. Pray for guidance, count and give thanks for your blessings every day.

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.