Wooden’s Wisdom created by Coach Craig Impelman and The John R. Wooden Course
www.woodencourse.com
Wooden's Wisdom - Volume 1
Issue 2
DON’T WHINE,
DON’T COMPLAIN AND
DON’T MAKE EXCUSES
Previously we described how the core of
Coach Wooden's philosophy started with
his father's rules. Joshua Wooden gave his
boys a very direct set of rules he hoped
would guide their everyday behavior.
These were referred to as the “Two Sets of
Three.” As discussed in our first coaching
module, the first set of three dealt with
integrity:
Never lie
Never cheat
Never steal
The second set of three dealt with how to
handle adversity:
Don’t whine
Don’t complain
COACH'S
FAVORITE POEMS
A Little Fellow Follows Me
A careful man I want to be,
A little fellow follows me;
I do not dare to 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.
Don’t make excuses
The finest teaching
tool we have is the
example we set for
others, and how we
handle adversity can
be one of the
strongest ways of
demonstrating our
character. For
example, there was
one particular event in Coach Wooden's
early life when his father set an example
that had a very significant impact on him.
Joshua Wooden had purchased some pigs
as an investment for the family farm, but
their expense necessitated that he take out a
mortgage. He also purchased vaccinations
to keep them healthy, but it turned out that
the vaccine was bad, and the entire herd
died as a result. Later that same year, the
crops were destroyed by a drought; unable
to continue paying the mortgage, Joshua
Wooden ultimately lost his farm to the
bank.
Yet without any ill words for the man who
had sold him the bad vaccine, Joshua
moved the family to a nearby town where
he took a job as a masseur. Young John
Wooden knew that these events had
devastated his father’s spirit and broken his
heart, but Joshua would never blame others
or dwell on mistakes. He lived by the same
set of rules that he bestowed upon his sons:
"Don't whine, don't complain, don't make
excuses. Just do the best you can. Nobody
can do more than that." That story, and his
father’s example, deeply impressed itself
upon John Wooden’s mind.
Years later, he would find himself recalling
his father’s attitude when the poor facilities
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 remember as I go,
Through summer's sun and winter's
snow;
I am building for the years to be
That little chap who follows me.
~Rev. Claude Wisdom White, Sr.
at the UCLA basketball facility bothered
him. For the first dozen years of his
coaching career there, this attitude really
held him back as a coach. When he
resolved to stop complaining and to simply
make the best of it, Coach Wooden noted
that his success greatly improved.
Coach devised and collected a number of
maxims regarding the best way to respond
to difficult situations. They are great
triggers that you can use with yourself,
your staff, and your team to rekindle a
positive attitude when the going gets tough.
“Bad times can make you bitter or better.”
“Never make excuses. Your friends won't
need them and your foes won't believe
them.”
“Things usually turn out the best for people
who make the best out of the way things
turn out.”
It is important to note that talking directly
to a person about a situation you are not
happy with is not whining or complaining,
provided that person is in a position to
effect a change and your approach is one of
respect and genuine concern. We must
always facilitate feedback from our
coworkers and not have them feel like they
like are complaining when they disagree
with us.
If a player is in the locker room fussing to
his teammates about your zone offense –
that would be whining and complaining. If
that same player expresses the same
concern to you directly and in a solutionoriented manner – that is the type of
communication that should be encouraged.
Coach Wooden’s maxim “Disagree without
being disagreeable” is a good way to
manage that communication. If you are a
head coach, it is critical to facilitate new
and different ideas from your assistant
coaches. If you are an assistant coach, you
should be mindful of the time and place
you offer suggestions to the head coach.
However, if your complaints are such that
no one is able to do anything to resolve
them, then you must be the one to effect the
change yourself. Coach Wooden said,
“Complaining, whining, and making
excuses just keep you out of the present. If
your complaints are constant, serious, and
genuine about your calling, then leave
when practical.” By handling yourself in
such a way through difficult situations, you
will not only find your own outlook
improving, but you will likely inspire those
around you, too.
Yours in coaching,
Craig Impelman
The John R. Wooden Course
For more information, visit www.WoodenCourse.com