As a basketball sister, I endured many hours of sports talk from my brother and his teammates, and have come to realize over the years how vital sports can be to instilling fundamental morals and values into younger generations.  I’ve heard the name John Wooden many times before, but never really understood the impact he had on the game of basketball and why he inspired so many of his players and the sports community around the world.  For those of you who are unfamiliar with Mr. Wooden let me give you a quick highlight reel on his life’s work and what has made him so inspirational to the world of basketball.

Wooden also known as the “Wizard of Westwood” was most revered for his tenure ship as UCLA’s head coach for over 25 years. Wooden was famous for winning 10 championships in 12 years, and coaching such basketball legends as Bill Walton and Kareem Abdul Jabbar.  Most impressive about his coaching style is that he promoted fundamental life skills, like being on-time, presenting yourself appropriately in public, and pushing yourself to reach individual capabilities.  He promoted team work, and emphasized the value of the process versus the product.  Wooden never had to ”Bobby Knight”  his players into doing well, he lead by example and shaped his players into great role models. 

Below is a poem that Mr. Wooden wrote that exemplifies the importance he placed on inspiring others, and the responsibiliy that athletes have to help shape the lives of the generations that looked up to them.  A coach, a poet, a husband and a hero to many, legendary in thought and inspirational forever!

If you want to hear more inspirational words from the Wizard of Westwood you can also check out his TedTalk.   Below is his poem The Little Chap That Follows Me, and above is his Pyramid to Success.  Take a minute to check them both out, you might just be inspired!

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The Little Chap That Follows Me

A careful man I must always be;
A little fellow follows me.
I know I dare not go astray
For fear he’ll go the self same way.

I cannot once escape his eyes,
Whate’er he sees me do, he tries.
Like me he says he’s going to be;
The little chap who follows me.

He thinks that I am good and fine,
Believes in every word of mine.
The base in me he must not see;
The little chap who follows me.

I must be careful as I go
Through summer’s sun and winter’s snow,
Because I’m building for the years to be;
This little chap who follows me

 

doGood. feelGood. liveGood.

-Team thinkGood.

Tags: Inspirational Speeches, John Wooden, TED Talks

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 6th, 2011 at 12:06 am and is filed under Entertainment, Poetry, Various, Video. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.