UCLA basketball coach John Wooden became an icon for his success and achievements on the court. Without a doubt, he is the greatest coach in NCAA basketball history. The titles (10, including 7 in a row- no other coach has more than 4), the perfect seasons (4, no other coach has more than 1), and the 88-game winning streak cannot even begin to sum up the greatness of Coach Wooden. His greatest achievement may have been that he taught his players not just how to play, but how to live.
Wooden was given a seven point creed by his father when he graduated from grammar school as a boy. These were the points:
1. Make each day your masterpiece
2. Be true to yourself
3. Help others
4. Make friendship a fine art
5. Drink deeply from good books, especially the Bible
6. Build a shelter against a rainy day
7. Pray for guidance, and give thanks for your blessings everyday.
No wonder John Wooden matured into a great man! Wooden truly took these principles to heart and created his own Pyramid of Success. His chart is good not only for coaching and teaching basketball, but is also applicable to the game of life. Wooden would instruct his teams in the x's and o's of offense and defense and shooting and passing- but he would often mix in nuggets of truth like, "Be quick but don't hurry" or "Failure to prepare is preparing to fail."
Let us each strive to make each day, each moment of our lives count towards some greater good. As a member of a team, it is sometimes necessary to make individual sacrifices for the overall good of the unit. We sometimes may have to make personal sacrifices to achieve the Lord's will for our lives, but in so doing we reap the ultimate reward of a job well done for the Lord.
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