Coach John Wooden epitomizes what a coach should be. Earlier this year, he passed away at the age of 99. In the ’60s and ’70s, his UCLA team dominated the college basketball scene. The book, “They Call Me Coach,” is his autobiography.

Coach John Wooden was rather soft-spoken. He was precise in his practice and games. Before becoming a coach, he was a great point guard at Purdue University. He became a member of the Hall of Fame as both a college basketball player and a coach. When he speaks, he sounds like a poet or an English teacher because he uses poems and quotes to make a point.

The book vividly illustrates how Coach Wooden had strong principles that he lived by. The two key sources of his life and training philosophies come from his father’s Seven Point Creed and his Pyramid of Success.

The Seven Point Creed states:

* Be honest with yourself.
* Make every day your masterpiece.
* Help others.
* Drink deeply from good books, especially the Bible.
* Make friendship an art.
* Build a shelter against a rainy day.
* Pray for guidance and give thanks for your blessings every day.

The Pyramid of Success is a list of core principles that are layered by:

* Competitive Greatness
*Balance
* Confidence
* Condition
* Skills
*Team spirit
* self control
* Alert status
* Initiative
* Intention
* Industriality
* Friendship
* Loyalty
* Cooperation
* Enthusiasm

His story can help anyone in any field improve and ultimately achieve the best. The Coach Wooden story is success through solid basic principles. He was a master of details. In the book, there is a story about how important it was to put on your socks correctly. He even taught his players how to do it. Another key aspect of Coach Wooden is that he doesn’t directly talk about winning. Instead, he teaches his players to do their best. If they do the best they can, then the outcome doesn’t matter as much.

Coach Wooden trained a variety of great players, including Lew Alcindor (also known as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar), Bill Walton, Gail Goodrich, and many others. He treated each player fairly. Just is not the same as equally. He had to spend a little more time with the star players, but he recognizes and recognizes the importance of each player. Many of his former players succeeded in basketball at the professional level, but most of them succeeded in other areas such as business, medicine, teaching, ministry, etc.

This book is a must read for anyone who trains, including athletic trainers, parents, business leaders, supervisors, etc.