Success Is in the Details by Pat Williams

Author:Pat Williams
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Self-Help;SEL027000;BIO016000;SEL021000
ISBN: 9781493412525
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
Published: 2017-11-26T16:00:00+00:00

5

Teach Wisdom, Not Winning

What you are as a person is far more important than what you are as a basketball player.

Coach John Wooden

During the process of writing this book, I spoke to a Saturday morning session at a convention. I told stories of the meals I had shared with Coach Wooden and the lessons and insights he had shared with me. Afterward, a man came up to me and said, “My name is Steve Danley. I enjoyed hearing you talk about Coach Wooden. I knew him, and he had a big impact on my life.”

“You knew Coach? Tell me about it.”

“I was a referee in Southern California for many years. That’s how I became acquainted with Coach Wooden. One day Coach invited me over to his condo in Encino. It was an amazing experience to sit and talk with him in his own home. He made me feel special, as if we had been friends for years.”

Listening to Danley, I could identify with him. I’d had a similar experience whenever I visited with Coach in his home. I said, “Steve, what’s your most vivid impression from your visit to Coach Wooden’s condo?”

“Well, this was in 2003, and he had just been awarded the Medal of Freedom by President Bush. I would have thought he’d have the medal framed on the wall or in a display case under glass, but you know where he had it? It was draped over a lamp. I know he felt honored to receive the award, yet it wasn’t an honor he wanted to brag about. I guess you could say he didn’t want to ‘glory’ in it, so he hung it on a lamp.”

Billy Packer and I were classmates at Wake Forest University. He was on the 1962 Wake Forest basketball team that beat Coach Wooden’s Bruins in the consolation game in the NCAA Final Four. Packer had a long career as a college basketball TV analyst and got to know Coach Wooden quite well. Packer once told me, “Coach Wooden is the most humble famous person I’ve ever met.”

Greg Hayes told me that Coach Wooden seemed to radiate wisdom. “At first,” he said, “we were all intimidated when we were in Coach’s presence. We were intimidated by his reputation, his achievements. I think we all thought, It’s Coach Wooden! The championships, the dynasty, and all that! But as we got to know him better, the intimidation turned to respect. He went from being Coach Wooden to simply Coach. He didn’t seem aware of his own greatness. He seemed to really care about each of his coaches, counselors, and campers. When you were with him, you realized he really cared about you, and it made you feel special. And even after you found out that he made everybody feel that way, it didn’t take away from how special it made you feel.

“When Coach Wooden walked into the room, there was a kind of spiritual presence there. It wasn’t an ego thing or something he projected—his demeanor was always soft-spoken and quiet.

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