Wooden’s Wisdom created by Coach Craig Impelman and The John R. Wooden Course
www.woodencourse.com
Wooden's Wisdom - Volume 1
Issue 11
YESTERDAY’S LOSS CAN
PRODUCE TOMORROW’S
SUCCESS
March 15, 1963, Provo, Utah: Arizona
State defeats UCLA 93-79 in the first game
of the NCAA Western Regional
Tournament . . . and the final score made the
game sound closer than it was. Arizona
State was leading 62-31 at halftime.
COACH'S
FAVORITE POETRY
AND PROSE
DON'T QUIT
That season was
Coach Wooden’s 17th
at UCLA; that
appearance was his
fifth NCAA
tournament, and in
those tournament
games, he had a
painful record of only
three wins and nine
losses.
But something was different about this
particular game. Coach Wooden had just
added a new dimension to his defense: a
full-court 2-2-1 zone press that was
designed to force teams to shoot the ball
quickly. It had worked to perfection in the
Arizona State game; the Sun Devils were
forced over and over again to shoot the ball
quickly. Unfortunately for UCLA, they
couldn’t miss a shot.
But Coach Wooden liked what he saw.
The final score did not discourage Coach or
cause him to panic because of his
philosophy: “Success is peace of mind
which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in
knowing that you made the effort to do the
best of which you are capable.“
To break down his point further, Coach
included some explanations of how this
philosophy of success applied to his overall
approach to coaching:
1. “In my opinion, a mark received in class
is no more valid a way to judge the success
When things go wrong,
as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging
seems all up hill,
When the funds are low
and the debts are high,
And you want to smile,
but you have to sigh,
When you need to laugh,
but start to cry
When you must choose life,
but want to die
When care is pressing
you down a bit,
Rest if you must;
but just don't quit.
Life is hard
with its twists and turns,
As every one of us
sometimes learns,
And many a failure
turns about
When you might have won
had you stuck it out;
Don't give up,
though the pace seems slow;
You might succeed
with one more blow.
of a student than scores validly determine
the success of a sporting event. It may
determine a winner but not necessarily
success.“
2. “If you truly do your best, and only you
really know, then you are successful and the
actual score is immaterial whether it was
favorable or unfavorable."
Coach Wooden said that although Arizona
State had broken the press quickly and shot
the ball extremely well, he liked the effect
that the press had on them. He thought
Arizona State had just had a great day
shooting and they would've been equally
effective against whatever defense he had
played. In spite of the score that came down
against his own team, Coach was very
pleased with the way the 2-2-1 press sped
the game up. He decided that, in spite of the
loss, he would keep the 2-2-1 press and
bring it back the next year as the primary
activator of his defense.
March 20, 1965; New York City: The best
high school player in the country, Lewis
Alcindor (later known as Kareem Abdul
Jabbar), watches the telecast of UCLA
winning their second consecutive National
Championship defeating Michigan 91-80
using their now-famous 2-2-1 press to speed
the game up. Alcindor decides UCLA might
be the place he wanted to play because he
liked their pressing/fast break style.
March 31, 1975; San Diego California:
UCLA defeats Kentucky 92-85 to give John
Wooden his 10th National Championship in
the last 12 seasons. Since that loss at
Arizona State in 1963, Coach Wooden has
Success is failure
turned inside out;
The silver tint
of the clouds of doubt;
And you never can tell
how close you are,
It may be near
when it seems so far;
So stick to the fight
when you're hardest hit;
It's when things seem worse
that you must never quit.
Author unknown
now enjoyed a record of 44 wins and one
loss in the NCAA Tournament. This
includes seven straight National
Championships and 38 consecutive wins in
tournament games – and the 2-2-1 press had
been a key ingredient.
Sometimes when an individual, team, or
business faces a loss, they want to change
their strategy and try something new just
because they aren’t happy about the final
numbers. Instead of looking at the big
picture application of the lessons learned or
the overall implications of the game, they
are quick to embrace something different
just because they are desperate to see a
different result on the scoreboard. Those
thinkers are sometimes referred to as “The
Idea of The Month Club.“
It’s lucky for UCLA fans that John
Wooden’s definition of success prevented
him from joining that club.
“Not all change is progress, but there is no
progress without change.“ – John Wooden
Yours in coaching,
Craig Impelman
www.woodencourse.com
Twitter: @woodenswisdom
For more information, visit www.WoodenCourse.com