Thanks for the link!
From the Socks Up: The Extraordinary Coaching Life of John Wooden
By Mitch Horowitz
(snip) -- For John Wooden, it all begins from the socks up.
On the eve of his ninety-fourth birthday, the man considered America’s “winningest coach” recalls a simple, but decisive routine that he used with each new season’s players during his twenty-seven years of coaching UCLA’s legendary basketball team to unprecedented victory.
On the first day of practice, the coach would tell his hotshot recruits, “Gentleman, today we’re going to figure out how to put our shoes and socks on.” Some players would blanch. Wooden would calmly explain that most players are benched for blisters, and the easiest way to avoid them is to pay attention to the basics. He would meticulously show them how to roll up their socks and tighten their laces. “I wanted it done consciously, not quickly or casually,” he said. “Otherwise we would not be doing everything possible to prepare in the best way.”
It is pure Wooden – simple yet ingenious, zeroing in on what really matters most.
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