Coaching is teaching, no o
ne epitomized this more than John Wooden. Wooden always described his job as teacher, not coach. here is Kareem
Abdul-Jabbar talking about his coach, John Wooden.
“He broke basketball down to its basic elements,” Abdul-Jabbar wrote in The New
York Times in 2000. “He always told us basketball was a simple game, but his
ability to make the game simple was part of his genius.” Abdul-Jabbar recalled that there “was no
ranting and raving, no histrionics or theatrics.” He continued: “To lead the
way Coach Wooden led takes a tremendous amount of faith. He was almost mystical
in his approach, yet that approach only strengthened our confidence. Coach
Wooden enjoyed winning, but he did not put winning above everything. He was
more concerned that we became successful as human beings that we earned our degrees
that we learned to make the right choices as adults and as parents. “In essence,” Abdul-Jabbar concluded, “he was
preparing us for life.”