Wooden

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Book Reviews aim to provide succinct, thoughtful summaries of books I have read. They contain quotes from the book, thoughts from others, and also some thoughts of my own. Typically they will be structured in the following order: author, introduction, message and purpose, remarkable chapter, and conclusion. This review will cover Wooden, a book about the lifetime of observations and reflections on and off the court from John Wooden.

Wooden

Author

John Wooden and Steve Jamison

Introduction

Evoking days gone by when coaches were respected as much for their off-court performances as for their success on the court, Wooden is a unique and intimate work presenting the timeless wisdom of legendary basketball coach John Wooden. In honest and telling passages about virtually every aspect of life, Wooden shares his personal philosophy on family, achievement, success, and excellence. The book is an inspirational classic that readers will cherish for generations to come.

Message and Purpose

Wooden is separated into four main parts:

Part I: Families, Values, Virtues

Part II: Success, Achievement, Competition

Part III: Coaching, Teaching, Leading

Part IV: Putting It All Together: My Pyramid of Success

John Wooden is famous for various reasons, most notably his basketball success as head coach at UCLA. In today's world, though, Wooden is also known notably for his maxims on life; these are now commonly referred to as Woodenisms. Throughout Wooden, he shares his indelible impressions on a multitude of life categories in a simple and straightforward manner to the reader.

Remarkable Chapter

Part III (Coaching, Teaching, Leading) was particularly insightful for me. As a coach, teacher, and leader, this chapter unloaded tons of nuggets of provision for how I want to coach, teach, and lead. In this chapter, Wooden talks about when it's okay to feel dejected:

"I felt even then that the more important question was, 'Did I try to do all I could?' rather than 'Did I win?' If the answer to the first question was, yes, then the answer to the second questions was also, yes, regardless of the score. There is nothing to be ashamed of when you prepared to the best of your ability. But you have ample cause to be dejected when you know you didn't prepare properly when you had the ability to do so."

Elsewhere in the chapter, Wooden describes what he think is the worst form of punishment. To Wooden, not having the opportunity to make progress was actually the worst punishment he could give his team:

"When my players failed to practice in a way that met the standards of UCLA Basketball, I simply turned off the lights of the gym and said, 'Gentlemen, practice is over.' They had lost their opportunity to make progress that day, which to me, was the highest form of punishment."

One thing I’ve begun to realize, as I’m sure many of Wooden’s players did, is that winners realize that the struggle of progress is a privilege. It gives them the opportunity to prove themselves and become better. Losers see the struggle of progress as an unnecessary inconvenience. If it makes life harder, they avoid it at all costs.

Conclusion

Wooden is a book I'll be proud to have on my bookshelf for years to come. More importantly, the insights gleaned from the book will benefit me for the rest of my days. As a coach myself, Wooden's words have profound impact on my life and have helped shape my coaching style and philosophy tremendously. If you're a coach—or really a leader of any kind in any field—Wooden is a quick, influential, and moving work that you'll reap benefits from forever.