Coach Wooden
and the Three Rules for Practice
Much has been
written and said about comparing sports and life. They say, “Sports is a
microcosm of life.” Coach Wooden has been credited with teaching “how to live
life through basketball.”
How does a
coach prepare teenagers to be successful professionals? Can sports do that? Many
of Coach Wooden’s players ended up successful businessmen. Did he use the
sports setting to train us for management and how to run a business? If so, how
did he do that?
The complete
answer to that question cannot be covered in one article; it would take volumes
that would list numerous ingredients including setting an example, working as a
team, and pushing oneself to ultimate conditioning, to name just three. Here, I
would like to focus on one, and I think a very important one.
At UCLA, we
had one team meeting, two weeks before the first day of practice. There, Coach
taught us how to properly put on our socks and tie our shoes, and he gave us
his three rules for practice. That’s right; we had only three rules.
- Be On Time
- No Profanity
- Never Criticize a Teammate
Being on time
demonstrated respect for the team and the coach, and was pivotal for maximizing
practice production.
Besides being
morally wrong, profanity is always accompanied by emotion, either high or low. Too
much rejoicing or depression hindered effort. A relatively-even emotional level
is important for maximizing production during practice because it saved time
and sustained team intensity and concentration.
According to
Coach Wooden, correction was the “coach’s job” not that of the players. Player-to
player critique quenched team spirit. Our task was to allow the coach to do the
criticizing while we acknowledged each other for a good pass, shot, rebound, or
defensive maneuver.
As I’m sure
you have already surmised, being on time, no profanity, and never criticizing a
teammate not only help make a great sports team, but also a great business
team.
Yes! Coach
Wooden taught Beyond the Basketball. Here is a poem I wrote years ago and mailed
to his condo in Encino, California.
Beyond The
Basketball
Swen Nater
Beyond the grand Pavilion
Where Bruin banners span,
Beyond the accolades, I learned
To be a champion man.
Far beyond material
Or book on any shelf,
Beyond the break, the pass or play,
I learned about myself.
Beyond the fundamentals
Or how to work the task,
Beyond the "how," I learned the "why"
And learned to think and ask.
Beyond the Bruin uniform
Beyond the Blue and Gold,
I gained a pride in who I am,
That lasts until I'm old.
And far beyond instruction
Beyond the hardwood class,
Beyond the game and all the tests,
Beyond the fail or pass,
The Teacher loved me, so he coached
Beyond gymnasium wall.
I thank my God, The Teacher taught
Beyond the basketball.
Beyond the grand Pavilion
Where Bruin banners span,
Beyond the accolades, I learned
To be a champion man.
Far beyond material
Or book on any shelf,
Beyond the break, the pass or play,
I learned about myself.
Beyond the fundamentals
Or how to work the task,
Beyond the "how," I learned the "why"
And learned to think and ask.
Beyond the Bruin uniform
Beyond the Blue and Gold,
I gained a pride in who I am,
That lasts until I'm old.
And far beyond instruction
Beyond the hardwood class,
Beyond the game and all the tests,
Beyond the fail or pass,
The Teacher loved me, so he coached
Beyond gymnasium wall.
I thank my God, The Teacher taught
Beyond the basketball.
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