Lessons from Coach Wooden

John Wooden was one of the greatest basketball coaches of all time.  How would that label be justified?  Glad you asked.  John Wooden is a graduate of Purdue University and was part of the 1932 National Title team and earned All-American status three times.  After serving in the U.S. Navy, he was named Head Coach of a struggling UCLA men’s’ program.  Things started to change.  From 1948 to 1974, the UCLA Bruins won 620 games and 10 National Titles – yep, you read that right – 10 titles.  He was quick to give credit to the players, but they played under his system called “The Pyramid of Success.”  This involved life lessons that spilled onto the court but would last a lifetime after athletics.  I want to focus on just a few of these today.  On top of the pyramid is competitive greatness.  On the way up are benchmarks such as loyalty and team spirit.  Coach Wooden preached about having a focus on character.  Your character is what you really are.  Your reputation is what other people think of you.  Focus on the former.  Secondly, he demanded that his players acted with integrity by telling them, “You can’t live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you.”  He extolled his squads to leave the program better than they found it.    John Wooden passed away at the age of 99 in 2010.  He made a huge impact on countless numbers under his tutelage.

What we do in education reveals our character.  There are opportunities to cut corners or to do things right.  Which do you choose?  When you have a chance to challenge kids at even higher levels, what do you do?  When there is a chance to develop a relationship with a kid, do you find yourself approachable or do you put up the invisible wall?  Do you find out what makes kids tick so that your instruction can more relevant or do you just teach it the way you’ve always done?  Do kids have to guess if you care about the direction they are heading or do they know that you care from your actions?  Is Monday morning something you dread or embrace?  When a kid fails do you feel like part of you failed as well or do you think that he/she got what they deserved?  Are you a “go the second mile teacher” or are you of the “one lap max” mindset?  Each day we get the opportunity to do things for hundreds of kids that we may never be repaid for…or maybe we do, just not in the standard sense of remuneration.  Once in a blue moon, you may get a kid or two, a parent or two, to say thanks for pushing them.  Maybe it’s that one note of thanks that you keep in your top drawer that keeps you going.  Maybe it’s reading about someone that you taught who is now doing huge things with their life.  Maybe it’s just knowing that someone’s life became a little easier because you were in it.  That’s was success is.  Work hard, take the high road and build your foundation for a successful career.

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The Browns travel to Cincinnati to take on the Bengals in the “Battle of Ohio.”  OH…IO!