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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 \u201cThe Wizard of Westwood.\u201d 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). <\/p>\n
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\u2019t), 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.<\/p>\n
The year was 1976, and the camp cost $200 \u2013 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 \u2013 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).<\/p>\n
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\u2019t 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. \u201cIf your feet aren\u2019t happy, you won\u2019t be happy.\u201d He even taught us some pre-game deep relaxation techniques that helped us eliminate distractions and keep us focused. <\/p>\n
His camps weren\u2019t 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 \u201cWooden-isms\u201d collected from Coach Wooden\u2019s website, coachwooden.com:<\/p>\n
\u201cTalent is God given. Be humble. Fame is man-given. Be grateful. Conceit is self-given. Be careful.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFailing to prepare is preparing for failure.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBe quick, but don\u2019t hurry.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you don\u2019t have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNever mistake activity for achievement.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
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, \u201cDiscipline yourself and others won\u2019t need to.\u201d 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\u2019m 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\u2019s attention.<\/p>\n
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 \u201cWooden: A Lifetime of Observations and Reflections On and Off the Court\u201d:<\/p>\n
\u201cThe skills he taught us on the court \u2013 teamwork, personal excellence, discipline, dedication, focus, organization, and leadership \u2013 are the same tools today that you need in the real world. Coach showed us how these skills are transferable. He wasn\u2019t 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.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
A few years ago, when my wife was learning about various management techniques, she asked me if I\u2019ve heard of John Wooden\u2019s \u201cPyramid of Success\u201d 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\u2019s office and sent a copy of the book for him to sign. <\/p>\n
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: <\/p>\n
\u201cMake each day your masterpiece.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Tarik Trad is a Muslim community activist based in Los Angeles, California.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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