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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“He taught the team game and had only three hard-and-fast rules – no profanity, tardiness or criticizing fellow teammates. Layered beneath that seeming simplicity, though, were a slew of life lessons – primers on everything from how to put on your socks correctly to how to maintain poise: “Not being thrown off stride in how you behave or what you believe because of outside events.”
“Even with his staggering accomplishments, he remained humble and gracious. He said he tried to live by advice from his father: “Be true to yourself, help others, make each day your masterpiece, make friendship a fine art, drink deeply from good books — especially the Bible, build a shelter against a rainy day, give thanks for your blessings and pray for guidance every day.”
“Asked what he would like God to say when he arrived at the pearly gates, Wooden replied, “Well done.”
http://www.thenewstribune.com/2010/06/05/1213601/wooden-dies.html#ixzz0q15GP5Lj
Without a doubt Coach Wooden, you’ll get the nod from God.