Success Is in the Details , livre ebook

Cover
Title Page
Copyright Page
© 2018 by Pat Williams and James Denney
Published by Revell
a division of Baker Publishing Group
PO Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287
www.revellbooks.com
Previously published under the title Coach Wooden's Forgotten Teams
Ebook edition created 2018
Ebook corrections 02.18.2019
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
ISBN 978-1-4934-1899-2
Endorsements
“Pat uncovers new insights into my father’s life—his values, his faith, his intensely competitive spirit, and his serving heart.”
Nan Wooden
“Pat Williams captures the essence of what makes John Wooden the greatest college basketball coach of all time. Coach Wooden was a Hall of Famer as a leader, mentor, and, most of all, in the game of life.”
Dick Vitale —Hall of Fame college basketball analyst
“What a wonderful idea to capture Coach Wooden hard at work at his summer basketball camps. This book has great value to anyone in a position of leadership. I couldn’t put it down.”
Josh Pastner —Georgia Tech head men’s basketball coach
“Pat Williams has given us another treasure trove of life lessons by the great John Wooden. This book provides valuable insights on how to be better in basketball and in the game of life.”
Mike D’ Antoni —Houston Rockets head coach
“Coach Wooden is an example for all of us to follow, and I have long held his words and philosophies in high regard. Pat Williams’s new book about Coach Wooden will make a big difference in your life.”
Michael Malone —Denver Nuggets head coach
“Pat Williams captures not only the greatness, but the goodness of John Robert Wooden. Other than my own father, Coach Wooden is the greatest man I’ve ever known. Williams’s impeccable detail of this incredible teacher-coach provides a special treat for the reader. Enjoy it. He’s given you a treasured seat right behind the bench of a Hall of Fame coach.”
Dick Enberg —sportscaster, winner of multiple Hall of Fame and Emmy awards
“I got to meet Coach Wooden when I was a graduate assistant at the University of Kentucky after I played there. Coach Wooden would come to visit Kentucky after he had retired to watch practice. I had to pick him up at the airport and transport him back to the hotel. He was such a kind and gentle man. He had a presence about him that I will never forget. Pat has captured the essence of how Coach Wooden carried himself and the respect that he had throughout his coaching career. It is a great read. John Wooden represents all we should be as people and basketball coaches.”
Dwane Casey —Toronto Raptors head coach
“Pat Williams’ great new book, Success Is in the Details , brings it all back—the fun, the excitement, and the joy of playing basketball under the instruction of Coach John Wooden himself! It’s impossible to measure his impact on the young people who passed through his camps, but through the stories Pat tells and through Coach Wooden’s own words in this book, his much-needed influence continues to impact lives today.”
Ann Meyers Drysdale —Retired basketball player, WNBA executive, and sportscaster
“Pat Williams’s book, Success Is in the Details , is terrific. Sometimes, we overthink ourselves as coaches when simple, character-driven principles are the most important things we can teach.”
Dave Joerger —Sacramento Kings head coach
“One week at a John Wooden summer basketball camp changed the course of my life. The first day of camp, I dislocated a finger on an outdoor court rim, and Coach Wooden himself reset my finger. That was my introduction to Coach. He later recruited me to UCLA, where I had the honor of playing in four straight NCAA Final Fours. Pat Williams’s new book captures the excitement and the life-changing impact the John Wooden camps had on me and countless other young people. A must-read for any Coach Wooden fan!”
Ralph Drollinger —President and founder of Capitol Ministries
“Once again, through his associations with Coach John Wooden, Pat Williams has captured the true man that Coach Wooden was. In Success Is in the Details , Williams has delved into Coach Wooden as a teacher in his youth camps, after his basketball coaching career at UCLA. Coach Wooden’s systems and philosophies will continue to affect current and future generations to come. Pat Williams’s book enforces Coach Wooden’s legacy of teaching and communication that truly transcends time. This book will transform you.”
Tubby Smith —University of Memphis head basketball coach
“I was fortunate to attend Coach Wooden’s basketball camps, and be coached by John Wooden. The camps were a platform that helped me earn a basketball scholarship to UCLA, then play thirteen years of NBA basketball. Today, I continue to earn a living in the sport I love, and I give most of the credit to John Wooden. There was an aura around him that exuded greatness and evoked reverence—and Pat Williams has captured it in this book. I highly recommend it!”
Kiki VanDeWeghe —Vice President of Basketball Operations for the NBA
Dedication
This book is gratefully dedicated to Craig Impelman, Greg Hayes, and Swen Nater.
Contents
Cover 1
Title Page 3
Copyright Page 4
Endorsements 5
Dedication 7
Acknowledgments 11
“A Week with Wooden” by Swen Nater 13
Foreword by Nan Wooden 15
Introduction: A Coach for All Seasons 19
1. More than a Basketball Camp 27
2. Success Is in the Details 47
3. Be a Leader Who Builds Leaders 63
4. Be a Teacher 83
5. Teach Wisdom, Not Winning 105
6. Empower Your People 121
7. Strive for Competitive Greatness 137
8. The Undiscovered Coach Wooden 155
9. Q&A with Coach Wooden 169
Epilogue: Coach Wooden’s Masterpiece 187
“I Saw Love Once” by Swen Nater 191
Notes 193
About the Authors 197
Also by Pat Williams and Jim Dennvey 199
Back Ads 201
Back Cover 209
Acknowledgments
With deep appreciation I acknowledge the support and guidance of the following people who helped make this book possible.
Special thanks to Alex Martins, Dan DeVos, and Rich DeVos of the Orlando Magic.
Hats off to my associate Andrew Herdliska; my proofreader, Ken Hussar; and my ace typist, Fran Thomas.
Thanks also to my writing partner, Jim Denney, for his superb contributions in shaping this manuscript.
Greg Hayes, author of Camp with Coach Wooden: Shoes and Socks, The Pyramid, and “A Little Chap,” was an amazing resource and encourager throughout the writing of this book. If you want to know more about how Coach Wooden impacted lives and taught basketball “the Wooden way,” you must read Greg’s book.
Craig Impelman shared his stories, insights, and profoundly helpful videos from the camps. He was generous beyond measure.
Swen Nater has long been a priceless resource whenever I have written about his friend Coach Wooden. He went above and beyond with this project and graciously granted permission to use his poems “A Week with Wooden” and “I Saw Love Once.”
Hearty thanks also go to Andrea Doering, Alicia Cooper, and the entire Baker/Revell team for their vision and insight and for believing we had something important to say in these pages.
Finally, special thanks and appreciation go to my wife, Ruth, and to my wonderful and supportive family. They are truly the backbone of my life.
A Week with Wooden by Swen Nater
His parents dropped him off
At the John Wooden basketball camp.
“Have fun son.” And he draped his duffle bag
Over his right shoulder, turned and
Slowly walked toward the smiling faces
Of the cleanly dressed and friendly mannered
Men and women coaches behind the folding table.
A nice sociable lady said,
“This is your dorm number and room number,
And everything else you will need.
We’re so glad you’re here.”
And she called him by name.
This camp was not going to be any different.
The faces, the food, the room, and the gym
Would be the same as the others.
But he didn’t care; he just loved to play the game.
He threw his bag on his dorm room bed
And, with his well-worn basketball,
Headed down the hill and into the gym.
How he loved the dusty, musty air
And the rhythmic sound of bouncing basketballs.
As he stood, taking it all in,
A strong hand firmly folded over his left shoulder.
“I’m John Wooden and I’m so glad you came.”
The boy turned and looked up into
Eyes that were kind but strong.
And through the week, those eyes
Winked when he did it right,
Stared when he failed and fell,
And scowled with a smirk
When he got full of himself.
That week with Wooden,
He learned the game of basketball,
But he also learned how to be an adult.
Used by permission.
Foreword
To the world, he was Coach John Wooden, the greatest coach of all time. To me, he was—and always will be—Daddy. And the same qualities that made him such a wonderful father also made him a great teacher and coach.
When Daddy was coaching at UCLA, my brother, Jim, and I loved going to the games. We’d sit in the stands with our mother, and before each game, Daddy and Mom would always perform a little ritual. He’d pull up his socks, then he’d reach over and tap his assistant coach on the knee. Finally, he’d turn and look at Mom up in the stands and make an okay sign with his thumb and forefinger—and the basketball game could begin.
That okay sign that passed between them was a tradition going back to their high school days, when Johnny Wooden was a star basketball player at Martinsville High in Indiana. Mom was the only girlfriend he ever had, the only girl he ever loved. They had met at a town carnival, but Daddy, being very shy, didn’t know how to ask her out on a date. So at a Martinsville game, just before tip-off, he looked up into the stands a