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This article refers to the act of coaching people. For other uses of the word, see Coach (disambiguation).

Coaching, when referring to getting coached by a professional coach, is a teaching or training process in which an individual gets support while learning to achieve a specific personal or professional result or goal. The individual getting coached may be referred to as the client, the mentee or coachee, or they may be in an intern or apprenticeship relationship with the person coaching them. Coaching may also happen in an informal relationship between one individual who has greater experience and expertise than another and offers advice and guidance, as the other goes through a learning process.

The structures, models and methodologies of coaching are numerous, and may be designed to facilitate learning new behavior for personal growth, or professional advancement. There are also forms of coaching that help the coachee improve a physical skill, like in a sport or performing art form. Some coaches use a style in which they ask questions and offer opportunities that will challenge the coachee to find answers from within him/herself. This "socratic method" facilitates the learner to discover answers and new ways of being based on their values, preferences and unique perspective.

When coaching is aimed at facilitating psychological or emotional growth it should be differentiated from therapeutic and counseling disciplines, since a client of coaching, in most cases is considered healthy (i.e. not sick). The purpose of the coaching is to help them move forward from their present situation.

Different coaching methods may be done with individuals or with groups, in person, over the phone or online.

The UK's Chartered Institute of Personnel Management reports^[1] that 51% of companies (sample of 500) 'consider coaching as a key part of learning development' and 'crucial to their strategy', with 90% reporting that they 'use coaching'. More recent research in 2011 by Qa Research, an independent marketing research agency in the UK, found that 80% of organisations surveyed had used or are now using coaching, but also found that while 90% of organisations with over 2,000 employees had used coaching in the past five years, only 68% of companies with 230–500 employees had done the same.^[2] The basic skills of coaching are often developed in managers within organizations specifically to improve their managing and leadership abilities, rather than to apply in formal one-to-one coaching sessions. These skills can also be applied within team meetings and are then akin to the more traditional skills of group facilitation.

Origins[link]

Etymologically, the English term “coach” is derived from a medium of transport that traces its origins to the Hungarian word kocsi meaning “carriage” that was named after the village where it was first made.^[3] The first use of the term coaching to mean an instructor or trainer arose around 1830 in Oxford University slang for a tutor who "carries" a student through an exam.^[4] Coaching thus, has been used in language to describe the process used to transport people from where they are, to where they want to be. The first use of the term in relation to sports came in 1831.^[4]

Historically the evolution of coaching has been influenced by many other fields of study including those of personal development, adult education, psychology (sports, clinical, developmental, organizational, social and industrial) and other organizational or leadership theories and practices.Since the mid-1990s, coaching has developed into a more independent discipline and professional associations such as the Association for Coaching, The International Coach Federation, and the European Coaching and Mentoring Council have helped develop a set of training standards.^[5][6] Janet Harvey, president of the International Coach Federation, was quoted in a New York Times article about the growing practice of Life Coaching, in which she traces the development of coaching to the early 1970s Human Potential Movement and credited the teachings of Werner Erhard's "est Training," the popular self-motivation workshops he designed and led in the '70's and early '80's.^[7]

The facilitative approach to coaching in sport was pioneered by Timothy Gallwey(1974 - The Inner Game of Tennis. Random House); before this, sports coaching was (and often remains) solely a skills-based learning experience from a master in the sport. Other contexts for coaching include executive coaching, life coaching, emotional intelligence coaching and wealth coaching.

Applications[link]

There are many definitions of coaching, mentoring and various styles of management and training.^[8]

What follows are more succinct definitions of the various forms of coaching. However, there may be overlap between many of these types of coaching activities.^{[citation needed]}

Managing is making sure people do what they know how to do. Training is teaching people to do what they don’t know how to do. Mentoring is showing people how the people who are really good at doing something do it. Coaching is none of these – it is helping to identify the skills and capabilities that are within the person, and enabling them to use them to the best of their ability.

Professional coaching uses a range of communication skills (such as targeted restatements) to help clients shift their perspectives and thereby discover different solutions to achieve their goals. These skills are used when coaching clients in any field. In this sense, coaching is a form of meta-profession that can apply to accompanying clients in any human endeavor, ranging from their concerns in sports and personal, professional, social, family, political, spiritual dimensions, etc.

Life coaching[link]

Life coaching is a practice that helps people identify and achieve personal goals. Life coaches help clients set and reach goals using a variety of tools and techniques. Life coaches are neither therapists nor consultants; psychological intervention and business analysis are outside the scope of their work. Life coaching draws inspiration from disciplines including sociology, psychology, positive adult development, career counseling, NLP, mentoring and other types of counseling. Contemporary life coaching can be traced to the teachings of Benjamin Karter, a college football coach turned motivational speaker of the late 1970s and early 1980s.^[9]

Many Life-Coach training schools and programs are available worldwide, providing options (classroom attendance or home study) for the individual who wants to gain a certificate or diploma and paid work in the field of life coaching. Many certificates and a few diploma credential designations are available within the profession.

Critics contend that life coaching is akin to psychotherapy without restrictions, oversight, or regulation. However, the Colorado General Assembly, after holding a hearing on such concerns, asserted that coaching is unlike therapy because it does not focus on examining nor diagnosing the past.^[10]

ADHD coaching[link]

Please add medical references.

ADHD coaching is a specialized type of life coaching that uses specific techniques geared toward working with the unique brain wiring of individuals with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. Coaches work with clients to help them better manage time, organize, set goals and complete projects. In addition to helping clients understand the impact ADHD has had on their lives, coaches can help clients develop "work-arounds" strategies to deal with specific challenges, and determine and use individual strengths. Coaches also help clients get a better grasp of what reasonable expectations are for them as individuals, since people with ADHD "brain wiring" often seem to need external mirrors for accurate self-awareness about their potential despite their impairment.^[11]

Business coaching[link]

Business coaching is a type of personal or human resource development. It provides positive support, feedback and advice to an individual or group basis to improve their personal effectiveness in the business setting. Business coaching includes executive coaching, corporate coaching and leadership coaching.

The International Coach Federation, the International Coaching Council and the Worldwide Association of Business Coaches provide a membership-based association for business coaching professionals. These and other organizations train professionals to offer business coaching to business owners.^[12] According to a MarketData Report in 2007, an estimated 40,000 people in the U.S., work as business or life coaches, and the $2.4 billion industry is growing at rate of 18% per year.^[13] According to the National Post, business coaching is one of the fastest growing industries in the world.^[14]

There are almost as many different ways of delivering business coaching as there are business coaches. Some offer personal support and feedback, others combine a coaching approach with practical and structured business planning and bring a disciplined accountability to the relationship. Particularly in the small business market, business coaching is as much about driving profit as it is about developing the person.

Coaching is not a practice restricted to external experts or providers. Many organizations expect their senior leaders and middle managers to coach their team members toward higher levels of performance, increased job satisfaction, personal growth, and career development. Business coaching is not the same as mentoring. Mentoring involves a developmental relationship between a more experienced "mentor" and a less experienced partner, and typically involves sharing of advice. A business coach can act as a mentor given that he or she has adequate expertise and experience. However, mentoring is not a form of business coaching. Few link coaching activities to compensation, however, resulting in less coaching by managers.^[15]

Executive coaching[link]

Executive coaching is designed to help facilitate professional and personal development to the point of individual growth and improved performance. Coaches need to have a strong understanding of individual differences in a work place as well as the ability to adapt their coaching style or strategies. It is suggested that those coaches who are unable to acknowledge these differences will do more harm than good. Many executive coaches have a specific area of expertise: sports; business or psychology. Regardless of specific area of focus, coaches still need to be aware of motivational needs and cultural differences.

Executive coaches work their clients towards specific professional goals. These include career transition, interpersonal and professional communication, performance management, organizational effectiveness, managing career and personal changes, developing executive presence, enhancing strategic thinking, dealing effectively with conflict, and building an effective team within an organization. An industrial organizational psychologist is one example of executive coaching.^[16]

Control Theory[link]

Multiple factors effect coaching such as motivation, cultural differences, goals, and feedback. For control theory focuses on goals and feedback. The basic premise of control theory is that people attempt to control the state of some variable by regulating their own behavior. With behavioral regulation first compare the goal with feedback. After comparing the two you can now evaluate if there is a behavior that can be changed to increase performance which will help reach your goal.^[17]

DELTA Approach[link]

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The DELTA Approach to executive coaching was developed to be value sensitive when it came to coaching. DELTA coaching is an acronym that consists of five main elements. DELTA, (D) Determining cultural values, (E) Employing typical coaching techniques, (L) Looking and listening for motivational needs and deficiencies, (T) Tailoring coaching techniques to motivational needs and cultural values, and (A) Assessing the effectiveness of these.^[18]

DELTA Determining Cultural Values[link]

When determining the cultural values it is best to review Hofstede's dimensions of national culture.

DELTA Employing Typical Coaching Techniques[link]

Employing typical coaching techniques can be broken down into four main elements: (1) a one-on-one relationship, (2) monitoring the coachee’s performance and other work-relevant behaviors, (3) setting goals based on the behaviors monitored, and (4) providing feedback throughout the relationship. Feedback and feedback interventions are one of the most common and well-known coaching techniques. The main goal of feedback is to provide information in regards to the coachee’s performance with the goal in mind to improve one’s performance.^[18]

DELTA Looking and Listening[link]

Looking and listening for motivational needs and deficiencies All motivational theories, strategies, and techniques in essence, use feedback and goal setting to drive the personal and professional development of the coachee. A good coach will be able to use these techniques as well as highlight performance and goal deficiencies in the coachee’s professional life.^[18]

DELTA Tailoring Coaching Techniques[link]

Executive coaching is highly individualized by nature because of this, the coach must be able to deal with differences and adapt accordingly. All coaches must be able to adjust their coaching strategies to maximize motivation of clients. Motivation varies from person to person usually related to culture. Determining if the culture leans more toward individualism or collectivism would allow the coach to determine the type of feedback necessary for motivation. A more individual focused culture might benefit more from self efficacy. While collective cultures would benefit more by focusing on the group’s efficacy or group feedback.^[18]

DELTA Assessing the effectiveness[link]

Individuals are not motivated by the same thing, exploring different means of motivating and assessing how well they work is the final step in the DELTA process. Compensations, rewards, and need satisfaction are all effective tasks for motivating.^[18]

Expat and global executive coaching[link]

Expat and global Executive coaching deals specifically with the unique set of challenges created from crossing cultures following an international or domestic relocation. This niche of coaching tends to center around adapting to a new culture, identity issues created within relocating families, difficulties attaining professional goals amidst a changing political and social structure, and other social and personal hurdles unique to each individual. This method of coaching is either individual, or group-based and helps the client gain fulfillment, success and a sense of identity in the areas that are coached.^{[citation needed]}

Career coaching[link]

Career coaching focuses on work and career or issues around careers. It is similar in nature to career counseling and traditional counseling. Career coaching is not to be confused with life coaching, which concentrates on personal development. Another common term for a career coach is career guide, although career guides typically use techniques drawn not only from coaching, but also mentoring, advising and consulting. For instance, skills coaching and holistic counseling are increasingly of equal importance to careers guidance in the UK.^[19]

Financial coaching[link]

Financial coaching is an emerging form of coaching that focuses on helping clients attain their financial goals. In contrast to financial counselors and educators, financial coaches do not provide financial advice to clients, nor do they focus on providing financial information. As such, financial coaches do not need to be experts in personal finance. At its most basic, financial coaching is a one-on-one relationship in which the coach provides encouragement and holds the client accountable to financial goals.

Financial coaching is rooted in the fact that although many people have financial goals and aspirations, they often struggle to attain them. Recognizing the array of challenges inherent in behavior change, including all too human tendencies to procrastinate and overemphasize short-term gains over long-term wellbeing, financial coaches monitor clients’ progress over time. This monitoring function holds clients accountable and is hypothesized to boost clients’ self-control and willpower.^{[citation needed]} Previous studies in psychology indicate that individuals are much more likely to follow through on tasks when they are monitored by others, rather than when they attempt to ‘self-monitor.’^{[citation needed]} Financial coaches also provide encouragement and support, which may also facilitate goal attainment. Although early research links financial coaching to improvements in client outcomes, much more rigorous analysis is necessary before any causal linkages can be established.^{[citation needed]}

Personal coaching[link]

Personal coaching is a process which is designed and defined in a relationship agreement between a client and a coach. It is based on the client's expressed interests, goals and objectives.

A professional coach may use inquiry, reflection, requests and discussion to help clients identify personal and/or business and/or relationship goals, and develop action plans intended to achieve those goals. The client takes action, and the coach may assist, but never leads or does more than the client. Professional coaching is not counseling, therapy or consulting.^[20] These different skill sets and approaches to change may be adjunct skills and professions.

Health coaching[link]

In the world of health and wellness, a health coach is an emerging new role. Health coaching is becoming recognized as a new way to help individuals "manage" their illnesses and conditions, especially those of a chronic nature.^{[citation needed]} The coach will use special techniques, personal experience, expertise and encouragement to assist the coachee in bringing his/her behavioral changes about.

Sports coaching[link]

Marylebone Cricket Club coaching books

In sports, a coach is an individual that teaches and supervises, which involved in the direction, instruction and training of the on-field operations of an athletic team or of individual athletes. This type of coach gets involved in all the aspects of the sport, including physical and mental player development. Sports coaches train their athletes to become better at the physical components of the game, while others train athletes to become better at the mental components of the game. The coach is assumed to know more about the sport, and have more previous experience and knowledge. The coach’s job is to transfer as much of this knowledge and experience to the players to develop the most skilled athletes. When coaching its entail to the application of sport tactics and strategies during the game or contests itself, and usually entails substitution of players and other such actions as needed. Many coaches work at setting their own rules and regulations. They are expected to provide and maintain a drug free environment, act as a role model both on and off of the fields and courts. Coaches must ensure that their players are safe and protected during games as well as during practices. [17] [18]

Dating coaching[link]

Dating coaches are coaches whose job is to direct and train people to improve their success in dating and relationships.A dating coach directs and trains his/her clients on various aspects of meeting and attracting long-term partners and meeting more compatible prospects. The focus of most programs is on confident and congruent communication. Dating coaches may focus on topics important to the art of dating: interpersonal skills, flirting, psychology, sociology, compatibility, fashion and recreational activities. Neil Strauss in The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists also focuses on neuro-linguistic programming (NLP), theories of persuasion, history and evolutionary biology, body language, humor and street smarts.

Conflict coaching[link]

Conflict coaching may be used in an organizational context or in matrimonial and other relationship matters. Like many other techniques of this nature, it is premised on the view that conflict provides an opportunity to improve relationships, to create mutually satisfactory solutions and attain other positive outcomes when differences arise between and among people.^{[citation needed]}

Victimisation coaching[link]

Victimisation Coaching is a type of life coaching that educates people who consider themselves as victims of crime or those who fear victimisation. Coaches work with groups of people to assist them on how to identify and approach potentially hazardous situations.

Christian coaching[link]

Christian coaching is becoming more common among religious organizations and churches. A Christian coach is not a pastor or counselor, (although they may also be credentialed in those disciplines), but rather someone who has been professionally trained to address specific coaching goals from a distinctively Christian or biblical perspective.

Although training courses exist, there is no single regulatory body for Christian coaching. Some of these training programs feature best-selling Christian authors, leaders, speakers or pastors. Several of these authors have developed their own coach training programs, such as Henry Cloud and John Townsend^{[disambiguation needed ]}, or John C. Maxwell.

Coaching ethics and standards[link]

One of the challenges in the field of coaching is upholding levels of professionalism, standards and ethics. To this end, many of the coaching bodies and organizations have codes of ethics and member standards and criteria according to which they hold their members accountable in order to protect coaching clients' interests.^{[citation needed]}

Viability as a career[link]

While coaching as a career has become increasing popular over the past 15 years, fueled by the work of Thomas J. Leonard, there are differing viewpoints concerning how viable a career in coaching is given the competitive marketplace. Suzanne Falter-Barnes and David Wood demonstrated, in a 2007 Survey of 3,000 coaches, that more than 50% of coaches are earning under $10,000 a year.^[21] However, the survey canvassed a mixture of full-time and part-time coaches.

See also[link]

• Career counseling
• Co-coaching
• Dating coach
• Helmut Diez
• Leadership
• Thomas J. Leonard
• Mentorship
• Personal development
• Procrastination
• Self-help

References[link]

17. ^ Turman, PD (2001), " Situational Coaching Styles," University of Northern Iowa, Iowa ^ "Coach Career Survey 2007" 18. RESPINI, B. (2005) Helping athletes define goals. Brian Mackenzie's Successful Coaching, (ISSN 1745-7513/ 21 / April), p. 8-9

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Coaching

• European Mentoring and Coaching Council(EMCC)
• International Association of Coaching (IAC)
• International Coach Federation (ICF)

John Wooden
John Wooden circa 1972.
Sport(s)	Basketball
Biographical details
Born	(1910-10-14)October 14, 1910 Hall, Indiana, U.S.
Died	June 4, 2010(2010-06-04) (aged 99) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Playing career
1929–33	Purdue
Position(s)	Guard
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1946–48 1948–75	Indiana State UCLA
Head coaching record
Overall	664–162 (.804)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships As player: *1932 National Championship As coach: *1964 NCAA National Championship *1965 NCAA National Championship *1967 NCAA National Championship *1968 NCAA National Championship *1969 NCAA National Championship *1970 NCAA National Championship *1971 NCAA National Championship *1972 NCAA National Championship *1973 NCAA National Championship *1975 NCAA National Championship Regional Championships – Final Four (1962, 1964, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975)
Awards 2006 founding class, College Basketball Hall of Fame 1972 National Basketball Hall of Fame as a Coach 6 time NCAA College Basketball Coach of the Year 1930 Basketball All-American 1931 Basketball All-American 1932 Basketball All-American 1932 College Basketball Player of the Year 1933 National Basketball League – Scoring Champion 1938 National Basketball League – First Team 1960 National Basketball Hall of Fame as a Player 1964 Henry Iba Award Coach of the Year Presidential Medal of Freedom
Basketball Hall of Fame Inducted in 1961
College Basketball Hall of Fame Inducted in 2006

John Robert Wooden (October 14, 1910 – June 4, 2010) was an American basketball player and coach. Nicknamed the "Wizard of Westwood", he won ten NCAA national championships in a 12-year period—seven in a row^[1]—as head coach at UCLA, an unprecedented feat.^[2][3] Within this period, his teams won a record 88 consecutive games.^[1] He was named national coach of the year six times.

As a player, Wooden was the first to be named basketball All-American three times and he won a national championship at Purdue. Wooden was named a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame as a player (inducted in 1961) and as a coach (in 1973), the first person ever enshrined in both categories. Only Lenny Wilkens and Bill Sharman have since had the same honor.^[4]

He was one of the most revered coaches^[1] and was beloved by his former players, among them Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Bill Walton. Wooden was renowned for his short, simple inspirational messages to his players, including his "Pyramid of Success". These often were directed at how to be a success in life as well as in basketball.^[1]

Early life and playing career[link]

Born in 1910 in the town of Hall, Indiana,^[5] Wooden moved with his family to a small farm in Centerton in 1918.^[6] As a boy one of his role models was Fuzzy Vandivier of the Franklin Wonder Five, a legendary basketball team that dominated Indiana high school basketball from 1919 to 1922. After his family moved to the town of Martinsville when he was 14,^[7] he led the high school team to the state championship finals for three consecutive years,^{[2][8][9][10]} winning the tournament in 1927.^[9] He was a three time All-State selection.^[2]

After graduating in 1928, he attended Purdue University and was coached by Ward "Piggy" Lambert. He helped lead the Boilermakers to the 1932 National Championship, as determined by a panel vote rather than the NCAA tournament, which did not begin until 1939.^[11] John Wooden was named All-Big Ten and All-Midwestern (1930–32) while at Purdue, and he was the first player ever to be named a three-time consensus All-American.^[12] He was also selected for membership in the Beta Theta Pi fraternity.^[13] Wooden is also an honorary member of the International Co-Ed Fraternity Alpha Phi Omega.^[14] Wooden was nicknamed "The Indiana Rubber Man" for his suicidal dives on the hardcourt.^[12] He graduated from Purdue in 1932 with a degree in English.^[3]

After college, Wooden spent several years playing professionally with the Indianapolis Kautskys^[15][16] (later the Indianapolis Jets), Whiting Ciesar All-Americans,^[16] and Hammond Ciesar All-Americans^[16] while teaching and coaching in the high school ranks.^[16] During one 46-game stretch he made 134 consecutive free throws.^[15] He was named to the NBL's First Team for the 1937–38 season.

In 1942, during World War II, he joined the Navy. He served for nearly three years and left the service as a lieutenant.^[3]

In 1961, he was enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame for his achievements as a player.^[17]

Personal life[link]

Wooden was born to Roxie Anna and Joshua Hugh Wooden.^[18] He had three brothers:^[3] Maurice, Daniel, and William.^[18] He had two sisters, one of whom died in infancy and was unnamed^[18] and another, Cordelia, who died from diphtheria at age 2.^[18]

Wooden met his future wife, Nellie (Nell) Riley, at a carnival in July 1926.^[19] They married in a small ceremony in Indianapolis in August 1932 and afterward attended a Mills Brothers concert at the Circle Theatre to celebrate.^[20] John and his wife had a son, James Hugh Wooden, and a daughter, Nancy Anne Muehlhausen.^[2] Nellie died on March 21, 1985^[2] from cancer.^[21]

Wooden remained devoted to Nellie until his own death decades after hers. He kept to a monthly ritual — health permitting — on the 21st of every month, when he would visit her grave then write a love letter to her. After completing each letter, he placed it in an envelope and added it to a stack of similar letters that accumulated over the years on the pillow she slept on during their life together.^[22] Wooden only stopped writing the letters in the last months of his life due to failing eyesight.^[23]

In mourning Nellie's death, Wooden was comforted by his faith.^[24] He was a devout Christian, considering his beliefs more important to him than basketball: "I have always tried to make it clear that basketball is not the ultimate. It is of small importance in comparison to the total life we live. There is only one kind of life that truly wins, and that is the one that places faith in the hands of the Savior."^[25] Wooden's faith strongly influenced his life. He read the Bible daily and attended the First Christian Church.^[24] He said that he hoped his faith was apparent to others: "If I were ever prosecuted for my religion, I truly hope there would be enough evidence to convict me."^[26]

Coaching career[link]

High school[link]

Wooden coached two years at Dayton High School in Kentucky. His first year at Dayton marked the only time he had a losing record (6–11) as a coach.^[27] After Dayton, he returned to Indiana, teaching English and coaching basketball at South Bend Central High School^[28] until entering the Armed Forces.^[29] His high school coaching record over 11 years, two at Dayton and nine at Central, was 218–42.^[2]

Indiana State University[link]

After World War II, Wooden coached at Indiana State Teacher's College (now Indiana State University) in Terre Haute, Indiana, from 1946 to 1948,^[3] succeeding his high school coach, Glenn Curtis.^[30] In addition to his duties as basketball coach, Wooden also coached baseball and served as athletic director,^[2][3] all while teaching and completing his master's degree in Education.^[30][31] In 1947, Wooden's basketball team won the Indiana Intercollegiate Conference title and received an invitation to the National Association of Intercollegiate Basketball (NAIB) National Tournament in Kansas City. Wooden refused the invitation, citing the NAIB's policy banning African American players.^[30][32] One of Wooden's players was Clarence Walker, an African-American from East Chicago, Indiana.^[30]

That same year, Wooden's alma mater Purdue University wanted him to return to campus and serve as an assistant to then-head coach Mel Taube until Taube's contract expired. Then, at that time, Wooden would take over the program. Citing his loyalty to Taube, Wooden declined, as this would have effectively made Taube a lame-duck coach.

In 1948, Wooden again led Indiana State to the conference title. The NAIB had reversed its policy banning African-American players that year,^[33] and Wooden coached his team to the NAIB National Tournament final, losing to Louisville. This was the only championship game a Wooden-coached team ever lost. That year, Walker became the first African-American to play in any post-season intercollegiate basketball tournament.^[33] John Wooden was inducted into the Indiana State University Athletic Hall of Fame on February 3, 1984.^[34]

On Nov 8, 2008; Indiana State officially named the floor at Hulman Center The Nellie and John Wooden Court in honor of the legendary coach and his late wife, Nellie. The ceremony included taped comments from Coach Wooden and the participation of members of his 1946-47 and 1947-48 teams. ^[35] The Sycamores christened the newly-named floor by defeating the Albion College (MI) Britons in an exhibition game.

UCLA[link]

John Wooden in 1960.

In 1948 Wooden became the head coach at UCLA, signing a three year contract. Prior to being hired at UCLA he had been pursued for the head coaching position at the University of Minnesota, and it was his and his wife's desire to remain in the Midwest. But inclement weather in Minnesota prevented Wooden from receiving the scheduled phone offer from the Golden Gophers. Thinking that they had lost interest, Wooden accepted the head coaching job with the Bruins instead. Officials from the University of Minnesota contacted Wooden right after he accepted the position at UCLA, but he declined their offer because he had given his word to the Bruins.^[3][36]

Wooden had immediate success, fashioning an "instant turnaround" for an undistinguished, faltering program. In 1948, he took a UCLA team that had a 12–13 record the previous year and transformed it into a Pacific Coast Conference (PCC) Southern Division Champion with a 22–7 record,^[3] the most wins in a season for UCLA since it started playing basketball in 1919.^[37] He surpassed that number the next season with 24–7 and a second Southern Division Championship and PCC outright, and won a third and fourth straight Southern Division Championship his first four years. Up to that time, UCLA had collected a total of two such championships the previous 30 years.

In spite of these achievements, Wooden reportedly did not initially enjoy his position, and his wife did not favor living in Los Angeles. When Mel Taube left Purdue in 1950, Wooden's inclination was to return and finally accept the head coaching job there. He was ultimately dissuaded when UCLA officials reminded him that it was he who had insisted upon a three-year commitment during negotiations in 1948. Wooden felt that leaving UCLA prior to the expiration of his contract would be tantamount to breaking his word.^[38]

By the 1955-56 season, Wooden had established a sustained success at UCLA. That year, he guided the team to its first undefeated PCC conference title, and a 17-game winning streak that came to an end only at the hands of Bill Russell's University of San Francisco team in the 1956 NCAA Tournament. However, UCLA was unable to advance from this level over the immediately ensuing seasons, finding itself unable to return to the NCAA Tournament as the Pete Newell-coached teams at the University of California, Berkeley took control of the conference at the end of the decade. Also hampering the fortunes of Wooden's team during that time period was a probation imposed on all UCLA sports in the aftermath of a scandal involving illegal payments made to players on the school's football team, along with USC, Cal and Stanford, resulting in the dismantling of the PCC conference.^[39]

By 1962, with the probation no longer in place, Wooden had righted the basketball program's ship and returned his team to the top of the conference. This time, however, they would take the next step, and in so doing, unleash a run of dominance unparalleled in the history of college basketball. A narrow loss, due largely to a controversial foul call, in the semifinal of the 1962 NCAA Tournament convinced Wooden that his Bruins were ready to contend for national championships.^[39] Two seasons later, the final piece of the puzzle fell into place when assistant coach Jerry Norman persuaded Wooden that the team's small-sized players and fast-paced offense would be complemented by the adoption of a zone press defense.^[39] The result was a dramatic increase in scoring, giving UCLA a powerhouse team that went undefeated on its way to the school's first basketball national championship.

Wooden's team repeated as national champions the following season before the 1966 squad fell briefly, finishing second in the conference. However, the Bruins' 1967 incarnation returned with a vengeance, reclaiming not only the conference title, but the national crown, and then retaining it every season but one until Wooden's retirement in 1975.

Wooden coached what would prove to be his final game in Pauley Pavilion on March 1, 1975, in a 93–59 victory over Stanford. Four weeks later, following a 75–74 overtime victory over Louisville in the 1975 NCAA Tournament semifinal game, Wooden announced that he would retire immediately after the championship game.^[40] His legendary coaching career concluded triumphantly, as his team responded with a win over Kentucky to claim Wooden's first career coaching victory over the Wildcats and his unprecedented 10th national championship.

In 2004, a 93-year old Wooden stated that he wouldn't mind coming back as an assistant who could help players with practices and other light duties.^[41]

During his tenure with the Bruins, Wooden became known as the "Wizard of Westwood" (although he personally disdained the nickname)^[38] and gained lasting fame with UCLA by winning 620 games in 27 seasons and 10 NCAA titles during his last 12 seasons, including seven in a row from 1967 to 1973.^[2] His UCLA teams also had a record winning streak of 88 games^[42][43] and four perfect 30–0 seasons.^[2] They also won 38 straight games in NCAA Tournaments^[2] and 98 straight home game wins at Pauley Pavilion. Wooden was named NCAA College Basketball's "Coach of the Year" in 1964, 1967, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972 and 1973. In 1967, he was named the Henry Iba Award USBWA College Basketball Coach of the Year. In 1972, he shared Sports Illustrated magazine's "Sportsman of the Year" award with Billie Jean King. He was named to the Basketball Hall of Fame as a coach in 1973,^[44] becoming the first to be honored as both a player and a coach.^[3][4]

"He never made more than $35,000 a year salary (not including camps and speaking engagements), including 1975, the year he won his 10th national championship, and never asked for a raise," wrote Rick Reilly of ESPN. He was given a Bruin powder blue Mercedes that season as a retirement gift.^[45] According to his own writings, Wooden turned down an offer to coach the Los Angeles Lakers from owner Jack Kent Cooke that may have been ten times what UCLA was paying him.

Criticism of Wooden with regard to his stewardship of the UCLA basketball program has most often focused on his failure to investigate or curtail his players' involvement with Sam Gilbert, a UCLA booster who was a prominent figure in the players' circle in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s.^{[46][47][48][49]} A 1981 investigation by the Los Angeles Times found that Gilbert had regularly arranged to procure items such as automobiles, clothing and airline tickets for UCLA players, and in so doing, apparently committed numerous violations of NCAA regulations.^[47][50][51] The investigation did not uncover evidence that Wooden had explicit personal awareness of Gilbert's activities.^[47] However, Gilbert's overall influence in the lives of the players was so well-known,^[52] the Times reporters concluded that if Wooden was not cognizant of the specifics of Gilbert's favors for players, it was only because Wooden made no effort to discover those details.^[47][53] For his part, Wooden acknowledged that he had always felt uneasy about Gilbert's relationship with the players, but steadfastly denied having knowledge at the time of anything done by Gilbert that was in violation of NCAA regulations.^{[47][48][54][55]} He also asserted that both he and UCLA athletic director J.D. Morgan had advised players to steer clear of Gilbert, but that ultimately they could not control the players' or Gilbert's actions.^[56] Given what later came to light, however, Wooden granted that he may have had "tunnel vision"^[47][54] and that he perhaps "trusted too much". Nonetheless, Wooden said that his "conscience [was] clear" with regard to his own role in the matter.^[47]

Head coaching record[link]

Wooden championships[link]

Legacy[link]

The John Wooden era at UCLA is unrivaled in terms of national championships. The next-closest school, on the women's side, Tennessee, has won eight championships with the next-winningest coach, Pat Summitt.^[58] For men's basketball, Adolph Rupp and Mike Krzyzewski have won four national championships; Jim Calhoun and Bob Knight^[59][60] have won three titles, with Knight also having an undefeated season^[59] (Wooden had four perfect seasons,^[2] with Geno Auriemma also having four with the Connecticut women's team; no other men's or women's Division I coach has more than one).

UCLA celebrates John Wooden Day every February 29.^{[citation needed]}

In 2009, Wooden was named The Sporting News "Greatest Coach of All Time".^[61]

Honors[link]

Wooden has been recognized numerous times for his achievements. After his coaching career ended UCLA continued to honor Wooden with the title of Head Men's Basketball Coach Emeritus^[62] On November 17, 2006, Wooden was recognized for his impact on college basketball as a member of the founding class of the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame. He was one of five, along with Oscar Robertson, Bill Russell, Dean Smith and Dr. James Naismith, selected to represent the inaugural class.^[63] He was inducted into the Missouri Valley Conference Athletics Hall of Fame in 2009 in St. Louis. Coach Wooden was the ninth honoree in the Missouri Valley Conference's Lifetime Achievement category.^[31] Wooden said the honor he was most proud of was "Outstanding Basketball Coach of the U.S." by his denomination, the Christian Church.^[57]

Since 1977, the most coveted of four college basketball player of the year awards has been named the John R. Wooden Award. This award has attained the status of being the equivalent of football's Heisman Trophy for college basketball, with the winner announced during a ceremony held at the Los Angeles Athletic Club.^[64] The MVP award for the McDonald's All-American Game in high-school basketball is named the "John R. Wooden Most Valuable Player Award". Two annual doubleheader men's basketball events called the "John R. Wooden Classic"^[65] and the "John R. Wooden Tradition"^[66] are held in Wooden's honor.

John Wooden Recreation Center on the campus of UCLA

He has schools and athletic facilities named after him. The gym at his alma mater Martinsville High School bears his name,^[57] and in 2005 a high school in the Los Angeles Unified School District was renamed to John R. Wooden High School.^[67] In 2003, UCLA dedicated the basketball court in Pauley Pavilion in honor of John and Nell Wooden.^[68] Named the "Nell & John Wooden Court," Wooden asked for the change from the original proposal of the "John & Nell Wooden Court," insisting that his wife's name should come first.^[69] In 2008, Indiana State also bestowed this honor on Wooden by naming their home court in the Hulman Center the "Nellie and John Wooden Court."^[70] The student recreation center at UCLA is also named in his honor.^[71] Also in 2008, Wooden was honored with a commemorative bronze plaque in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Memorial Court of Honor because his UCLA basketball teams played six seasons in the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena.^[72] On Wooden's 96th birthday in 2006, a post office in Reseda, California, near where Wooden's daughter lives, was renamed the Coach John Wooden Post Office.^[73] This act was signed by President George W. Bush based on legislation introduced by Congressman Brad Sherman.^[2]

On July 23, 2003, John Wooden received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor. It was presented by George W. Bush after a three-year campaign by Andre McCarter, who was on Wooden's 1975 National Championship team. The Ukleja Center for Ethical Leadership at California State University, Long Beach established the John Wooden Ethics in Leadership Award in 2009, with Wooden being the inaugural recipient.^[74] In 1986 John Wooden was honored as an Outstanding Alumnus of the School of Liberal Arts at Purdue University – the first year the award was given.

On October 14, 2010, the Undergraduate Student Association Council of UCLA held a "John Wooden Day Celebration" to honor Wooden's 100th birthday and to commemorate his contributions to the university.^[75] A portion of the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame at Morgan Center is a recreation of Wooden's den office in honor of his memory on campus.^[76]

Golf Digest lists John Wooden as one of four people to hit both a double eagle and a hole in one in the same round of golf.^[77] The feat was accomplished in 1947 at the South Bend Country Club in South Bend, Indiana.

The flagship leadership development program of Wooden’s fraternity, Beta Theta Pi, is named "The John and Nellie Wooden Institute for Men of Principle" after Coach Wooden and his wife, Nellie.^[78] Coach Wooden’s maxims and Creed are central to the teaching of leadership development at the Institute.

Following Wooden[link]

Four coaches left UCLA in the nine years following Wooden. One former UCLA head coach, former ESPN analyst and current St. John's head coach Steve Lavin (fired from UCLA in 2003), has said "The mythology and pathology of UCLA basketball isn't going to change" due to Wooden's legacy and believes that every basketball coach will eventually be fired or forced out from UCLA.^[79]

Wooden's immediate successor at UCLA, Gene Bartow, went 28–5 in 1976, but was blown out twice that season by the eventual national champions Indiana, the second time in the '76 Final Four, and lost 76–75 in the 1977 West Region semi-finals to Idaho State University. Bartow won 85.2% of his games (compared to Wooden's 80.8%) in two years, yet supposedly received death threats from unsatisfied UCLA fans. Wooden himself has often joked about being a victim of his own success, calling his successors on the phone and playfully identifying himself ominously as "we the alumni..."^[80] In his autobiography, Wooden recounts walking off the court after his last game coaching in 1975, having just won his tenth title, only to have a UCLA fan walk up and say, "Great win coach, this makes up for letting us down last year" (UCLA had lost in the semi-finals in double overtime in 1974 to eventual national champion North Carolina State)^[81] Bartow's successor, Wooden's protege, Gary Cunningham, posted an even better two year record after Bartow, .862 (50–8) and No. 2 rankings each year, but could not proceed past two wins in the NCAAs, and left. Larry Brown came next, racking up more losses, 17, in two years than UCLA had experienced the previous four, yet with a near magical end season run typical of his career, he managed to coach UCLA into the title game in 1980. He left. UCLA went 20 years after Wooden's retirement before winning another national basketball championship, finally hanging a banner again in 1995 under coach Jim Harrick. In 2006, Ben Howland led the team back to the national championship game for the first time since the 1995 title game.^[37]

Final years[link]

John Wooden at a ceremony on his 96th birthday

Wooden was in good health until the final years of his life. On April 3, 2006, he spent three days in a Los Angeles hospital receiving treatment for diverticulitis.^[82] He was hospitalized again in 2007 for bleeding in the colon, with his daughter quoted as saying her father was "doing well" upon his subsequent release.^[83] Wooden was hospitalized on March 1, 2008, after a fall in his home. He broke his left wrist and his collarbone in the fall, but remained in good condition according to his daughter and was given around-the-clock supervision.^[84] In February, 2009, he was hospitalized for four weeks with pneumonia.^[85]

On May 26, 2010, Wooden was admitted to the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center after suffering from dehydration and remained hospitalized there until his death the following week.^[86] He died of natural causes on June 4, 2010, 4 months and 10 days shy of his 100th birthday.^[87][88][89] Wooden was interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park following a private ceremony, and a public memorial service was held two weeks later at UCLA's Pauley Pavilion.

Seven Point Creed[link]

John Wooden's Seven Point Creed,^[90] given to him by his father Joshua upon his graduation from grammar school:

• Be true to yourself.
• Make each day your masterpiece.
• Help others.
• Drink deeply from good books, especially the Bible.
• Make friendship a fine art.
• Build a shelter against a rainy day.
• Pray for guidance and give thanks for your blessings every day.

Wooden also authored a lecture and a book about the Pyramid of Success.^[91] The Pyramid of Success consists of philosophical building blocks for winning at basketball and at life. In his later years he was hired by corporations to deliver inspirational lectures and even appeared in commercials for Hartford Insurance and the NCAA. Following his death, all UCLA teams wore either a patch or helmet sticker with the initials "JRW" inside a black pyramid, in honor of his philosophy. It is generally known that he received lecture fees that exceeded the salaries he was paid as a coach. Wooden proudly claimed that these late in life windfalls allowed him to set up education accounts for all of his grandchildren. In a 2009 interview, John Wooden described himself politically as a "liberal Democrat," who had voted for some Republican presidential candidates. At the top of the Pyramid of Success was "Competitive Greatness" which Wooden defined as "Perform at your best when your best is required. Your best is required each day."^[92]

Wooden was also the author of several other books about basketball and life.

Among Wooden's maxims:

• Failing to prepare is preparing to fail.
• Flexibility is the key to stability.
• Be quick, but don't hurry.^[93][94]

Publications[link]

• Coach John Wooden and Don Yaeger (2009) A Game Plan for Life, Bloomsbury USA, ISBN 978-1-59691-701-9
• John Wooden (2009) Coach Wooden's Leadership Game Plan for Success: 12 Lessons for Extraordinary Performance and Personal Excellence, McGraw-Hill Professional. ISBN 978-0-07-162614-9
• John Wooden with Steve Jamison (2006) The Essential Wooden, McGraw-Hill Professional. ISBN 978-0-07-148435-0
• John Wooden (2005) Wooden on Leadership, McGraw-Hill Professional. ISBN 978-0-07-145339-4
• John Wooden with Steve Jamison (2004) My Personal Best, McGraw-Hill Professional. ISBN 978-0-07-143792-9
• John Wooden (2003) They Call Me Coach, McGraw-Hill Professional. ISBN 978-0-07-142491-2
• John Wooden with Steve Jamison (1997) Wooden, McGraw-Hill Professional. ISBN 978-0-8092-3041-9
• John Wooden (1966) Practical Modern Basketball. The Ronald Press Company.

See also[link]

Biography portal

• List of college men's basketball coaches with 600 wins

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: John Wooden

• Pyramid of Success (Printable PDF)
• The Coach Wooden Cup
• The Wooden Course – Designed to teach Wooden's life philosophy
• Bill Walton's tribute to Wooden
• John Wooden's Best Players - slideshow by Life magazine
• Video: Coach John Wooden speaks about basketball, life and death
• Video: Vin Scully talks about how he met Coach John Wooden
• John Wooden on the difference between winning and success
• John Wooden's business partner and co-author, Steve Jamison speaks about the legendary UCLA coach on Hard Court Lessons Radio