UCLA basketball coach John Wooden: More than a coach

The author with Coach Wooden

John Wooden, who died recently at the age of 99, was best known as a college basketball coach. His UCLA basketball teams won 10 NCAA championships in 12 years, earning him the nicknamed “The Wizard of Westwood.” He coached many college All-Americans and future NBA Hall of Fame players, including Bill Walton and Lewis Alcindor (who later became Kareem Abdul-Jabbar).

As a kid, I used to shoot hoops at the basket above the garage door behind our house in an alley. I would play at any hour in any weather, much to the dismay of my parents and my neighbors. I was a big UCLA basketball fan and thought I was a pretty good player (I wasn’t), but one day, at age 12, I saw a small ad in the back of the sports section of the Los Angeles Times about the John Wooden Summer Basketball Camp. I begged my dad to let me go. It was five days away from home at Pt. Loma College near San Diego.

The year was 1976, and the camp cost $200 – that was A LOT of money for our family, especially during a recession year. However, my dad saw how important it was for me, paid the money and drove me two hours down to the campus. The $200 paid for the entire camp – dorm room, food, a camp tank top, a pair of Bata polyurethane basketball shoes (the first of its kind), and photos with Coach Wooden and former UCLA players who made special appearances at the camp (we got Marques Johnson and Swen Nater).

It was my first time away from home without my family. Even though there were hundreds of kids of all ages and skill levels at this camp, it left a big impression upon me. Like most camps, it was run by assistants and counselors, though Coach Wooden was often seen riding around from court to court in an electric golf cart. While I don’t recall all the details, Coach Wooden would often lecture us as a group, on everything from the importance of teamwork to how to put your socks and shoes on correctly. “If your feet aren’t happy, you won’t be happy.” He even taught us some pre-game deep relaxation techniques that helped us eliminate distractions and keep us focused.

His camps weren’t just about basketball, but much about life. Coach Wooden was constantly repeating little inspirational and motivational nuggets or maxims that he would share with anyone who would listen. Some of the more famous “Wooden-isms” collected from Coach Wooden’s website, coachwooden.com:

“Talent is God given. Be humble. Fame is man-given. Be grateful. Conceit is self-given. Be careful.”

“Failing to prepare is preparing for failure.”

“Be quick, but don’t hurry.”

“If you don’t have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over?”

“Never mistake activity for achievement.”

During one of our scrimmages at camp (there were eight basketball games going on concurrently), I remember seeing Coach Wooden riding up in his cart with the head counselor. Not sure how it happened, but I got their attention by making a difficult shot against a taller, older, more skilled player. Then, I stole the in-bounds pass and made another difficult shot over the same kid. Coach Wooden walked over to us, stopped the game, and said to the other kid, “Discipline yourself and others won’t need to.” He then looked back at me, smiled and winked, then went off in his golf cart to another court. As hard as I tried the rest of the camp, I’m pretty sure those were the last baskets I scored at camp as everyone wanted to be the guy that shut down the kid who got Coach Wooden’s attention.

Later in my life, after reading his books and studying his success, I found many parallels between his example and that of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). Coach Wooden led not only through his words but his example. Bill Walton said the following in the book “Wooden: A Lifetime of Observations and Reflections On and Off the Court”:

“The skills he taught us on the court – teamwork, personal excellence, discipline, dedication, focus, organization, and leadership – are the same tools today that you need in the real world. Coach showed us how these skills are transferable. He wasn’t just teaching us about basketball, he was teaching us about life. John Wooden taught us how to focus on one primary objective: Be the best you can in whatever endeavor you undertake.”

A few years ago, when my wife was learning about various management techniques, she asked me if I’ve heard of John Wooden’s “Pyramid of Success” as she found them amazingly applicable to both work and life. She had no idea he led UCLA to 10 NCAA basketball championships. With her 40th birthday approaching, I thought it would be nice surprise if I could somehow get her an autographed copy of his latest book. I contacted Coach Wooden’s office and sent a copy of the book for him to sign.

Just a few days later, I received the book and found a long inscription written by Coach Wooden addressed to my wife on one of the opening pages, concluding with the following sentence:

“Make each day your masterpiece.”

While his life and reputation as a great basketball coach, inspirational and motivational speaker and exceptional human being has been well documented, I was very touched by his actions. The man was nearly 95 years old and still writing and inspiring people through his words. May God have mercy on his soul.

Tarik Trad is a Muslim community activist based in Los Angeles, California.