Coach John Wooden Quotes

I believe ability can get you to the top," says coach John Wooden, "but it takes character to keep you there.… It's so easy to … begin thinking you can just 'turn it on' automatically, without proper preparation. It takes real character to keep working as hard or even harder once you're there. When you read about an athlete or team that wins over and over and over, remind yourself, 'More than ability, they have character.' ~ Carol S. Dweck

I tried to teach them [his sons] that about the importance of self-discipline, and that the culture of yes is built on a foundation of no. ~ Bill Walton

It matters not the subject taught, nor all the books on all the shelves, What matters most, yes most of all, is what the teachers are themselves. ~ John Wooden

Be true to yourself. Make each day a masterpiece. ~ John Wooden

Sincerity may not help us make friends, but it will help us keep them. ~ John Wooden

I came back into the room and excitedly said, "They love their hair." "Precisely!" she shouted. "Look on the top bunk." Perilously positioned on the thin wooden headboard of the bed, a bottle of STA-WET gel. "Kevin doesn't just wake up with that spiky bedhead look, Pudge. He works for it. He loves that hair. They leave their hair products here, Pudge, because they have duplicates at home. All those boys do. And you know why?" "Because they're compensating for their tiny little penises?" I asked. "Ha ha. No. That's why they're macho assholes. They love their hair because they aren't smart enough to love something more interesting. So we hit them where it hurts: the scalp. ~ John Green

Will you be there waiting for me every night, in our cottage?" he murmured.
She nodded, leaning against him.
McKenna's bristly black lashes lowered until they cast shadows on his cheeks. "And you'll scrub my back when I'm tired and dusty from the field?"
Aline pictured his large, powerful body lowering into a wooden tub... his pleasured sigh at the heat of the water... his bronzed back shining in the firelight. "Yes," she breathed. "And then you can soak while I hang the stew pot over the fire, and I'll tell you about the argument I had with the miller, who didn't give me enough flour because his scale was weighted."
McKenna laughed softly while his fingertip skimmed lightly along her throat. "The cheat," he murmured, his eyes sparkling. "I'll speak with him tomorrow- no one tries to fleece my wife and gets away with it. In the meantime, let's go to bed. I want to hold you all night long."
The thought of being tucked in a cozy bed with him, their naked bodies entwined, made Aline tremble with longing. "You'll probably fall asleep as soon as your head touches the pillow," she said. "Farming is hard work- you're exhausted."
"Never too tired to love you." His arms slid around her, and he hunched over to nuzzle the curve of her cheek. His lips were like hot velvet as he whispered against her skin. "I'm going to kiss you from your head to your toes. And I won't stop until you're crying for me, and then I'll pleasure you until you're weak from my lovin ~ Lisa Kleypas

There is no great fun, satisfaction, or joy derived from doing something that's easy. ~ John Wooden

A leader must listen to those under their supervision. ~ John Wooden

Knowledge is not enough to get desired results. You must have the more elusive ability to teach and to motivate. This defines a leader; if you can't teach and you can't motivate, you can't lead. ~ John Wooden

You can't make good decisions that are going to be meaningful, productive, when you lose control, and you have to maintain mental control, emotional control and to be able to perform physically up to your own particular level of competency; you have to keep your emotions under control. ~ John Wooden

Adversity often produces an unexpected opportunity. Look for it ! Appreciate and utilize it! This is difficult to do if you're feeling sorry for yourself because you're faced with adversity. ~ John Wooden

No one is an overachiever. How can you rise above your level of competency? Everyone is an underachiever to different degrees. The harder you work, the more luck you will have. ~ John Wooden

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, but you can influence the future by what you do today. - ~ John Wooden

All that matters is the pressure you put on yourself. External pressures cause people to choke. While you can't control what happens to you, you can control how you react. ~ John Wooden

When I watch professional football, I love listening to John Madden because I know he knows what he's talking about. He's been both down in the trenches and in front of the bench as a coach. He knows the game. ~ Robert Kiyosaki

Strive to accomplish the very best you are capable of. Nothing less than your best effort will suffice. ~ John Wooden

If we, as coaches, aren't teachers, we are nothing ~ John Wooden

You'd like to see your team reasonably happy, but that's not your job. Gain their respect and get them to accept their roles ~ John Wooden

Don't let the things you can't do get in the way of the things you can. ~ John Wooden

Earlier in life, I put family in front of faith. I've fixed that. But I always tried to keep work fourth on the list. I was proud when [my wife] Nellie told an interviewer, 'I never could tell whether John had a good practice or a bad practice, because he never brought it home' ~ John Wooden

Turning, she smiled with genuine affection at Lord Marchman and offered him her hand through the open window of the coach. "Thank you," she said shyly but with great sincerity, "for being all the things you are, my lord."
His face scarlet with pleasure at her compliment, John Marchman stepped back and watched her coach pull out of his drive. He watched it until the horses turned onto the road, then he slowly walked back toward the house and went into his study. Sitting down at his desk, he looked at the note he'd written her uncle and idly drummed his fingers upon his desk, recalling her disturbing answer when he asked if she'd dissuaded old Belhaven from pressing his suit. "I think I have," she'd said. And then John made his decision.
Feeling rather like an absurd knight in shining armor rushing to save an unwilling damsel in the event of future distress, he took out a fresh sheet of paper and wrote out a new message to her uncle. As it always happened the moment courtship was involved, Lord Marchman lost his ability to be articulate. His note read:

If Belhaven asks for her, please advise me of it. I think I want her first. ~ Judith McNaught

If we magnified blessings as much as we magnify disappointments, we would all be much happier. ~ John Wooden

Place the team above yourself always. ~ John Wooden

No building is better than its structural foundation, and no man (woman) is better than his (her) mental foundation. When I prepared my original Success Pyramid years ago, I put industriousness and enthusiasm as the two cornerstones with LOYALTY right in the middle of the pyramid - Loyalty to yourself and to all those dependent upon you. ~ John Wooden

Be more interested in character than reputation ~ John Wooden

The score will take care of itself when you take care of the effort that precedes the score. ~ John Wooden

Worry more about your character than your reputation. Character is what you are, reputation merely what others think you are. ~ John Wooden

Always think of passing the ball before shooting it. ~ John Wooden

The best competition I have is against myself to become better ~ John Wooden

Well, your greatest joy definitely comes from doing something for another, especially when it was done with no thought of something in return. ~ John Wooden

Ability may get you to the top, nut it takes chracter to keep you there - mental, moral, and physical. ~ John Wooden

If you do the following three things, you will be successful in major college basketball. If you don't do them, it will be most difficult." He didn't say it would be impossible - typical of John Wooden - but he said it would be difficult. I was scrambling for my pen when he said, "Those three things are fairly simple: Number one, make certain, Dale, you always have better players than anybody you play. Now, with that locked up, make sure you always get the better players to put the team above themselves. And number three - this is very important, Dale Brown," he said, "don't try to be some coaching genius, or give the guys too much information, or too much stuff; always practice simplicity with constant repetition. ~ John Wooden

Mentors are available at all stages of your leadership life - early, middle and late. Seek them out and listen; absorb their knowledge and use it. ~ John Wooden

School. I never tried to talk a student into coming to UCLA. I tried to show him what was there and what to expect, and I never told him he was going to play; I told him he would have the opportunity to play, and if he was good enough, then he'd be able to. Rosy forecasts during the "courtship" of a player can only lead to disappointment and distrust if anything fails to meet that student's expectations. ~ John Wooden

I wanted my players to always be searching, especially for truth. I wanted them to know what they believed and be able to defend it. Truth will always stand the test of scrutiny. ~ John Wooden

We will begin by learning how to tie our shoes. ~ John Wooden

Ability is a poor man's wealth. ~ John Wooden

Knowing his coach likes him is more important to a player than anything else. To me, it was important to be able to chew out a player for screwing up and for him to accept it because he knew I liked him anyway. ~ John Madden

When you improve a little each day, eventually big things occur. ~ John Wooden

What a leader learns after you've learned it all counts most of all. ~ John Wooden

It is most difficult, in my mind, to separate any success, whether it be
in your profession, your family, or as in my case, in basketball, from
religion. ~ John Wooden

To win once you must have talent, but to win again you must have character. ~ John Wooden

Obama's dense as a doorbell; not much going on up there - it's a wooden top. ~ John Lydon

Confidence - Poise and confidence are not possible unless you have prepared correctly. Failing to prepare is preparing to fail. Poise and confidence are a natural result of proper preparation. ~ John Wooden

Some of my greatest pleasures have come from finding ways to overcome obstacles. ~ John Wooden

Whenever the story of John Wooden's life gets told, his years at UCLA before he started winning championships are usually characterized as a period of struggle. Wooden didn't view them that way. He was a diligent, persistent man. He enjoyed developing his craft, one small lesson plan at a time. "Little things add up, and they become big things. That's what I tried to teach my players in practice," he said. "You're not going to make a great improvement today. Maybe you'll make a little bit. But tomorrow it's a little more, and the next day a little more. ~ Seth Davis

The greatest ally you have to get things working well and the players performing as a team is the bench. Don't be afraid to use it, either for the star player or anyone else. ~ John Wooden