John Wooden Quotes

A gifted player, who is not a team player, will ultimately hurt the team.

You cannot antagonize and be a positive influence, and you will antagonize when you discipline through emotion.

It's too late for preparation when opportunity strikes.

I always talked to my players about today. It's the only day that matters.

In life, worthwhile accomplishments and acquisitions take time. Usually the better the reward, the more time it takes to acquire it.

Those of us who have been blessed with worldly success have an even greater responsibility to make an impact with our time, talents, and resources.

Be more interested in character than reputation

We can plan a roadtrip or a workday down to the last detail but the unexpected will always arise. If we are not malleable, we will get left behind.

The best way to improve your team is to improve yourself.

Champions are brilliant at the basics.

Being your best when your best is needed. The ability to enjoy challenges when things become difficult and to derive exhilaration from them.

Discipline yourself - so others don't have to.

All that matters is the pressure you put on yourself. External pressures cause people to choke. While you can't control what happens to you, you can control how you react.

Never confuse activity with accomplishment.

Being yourself; not acting. You therefore can function near your own level of competence. Satisfy you own expectations rather than those of others.

Hardship brings people closer together if you share it.

The star of the team IS the team. 'We' supercedes 'me'.

I like to give opinions, not suggestions

I believe correcting is the positive approach. I believe in the positive approach. Always have.

Ten strong horses could not pull an empty baby carriage if they worked independently of each other.

Stubborness we deprecate, Firmness we condone, The former is our neighbors trait, The latter is our own.

With the experience to judge, one need not pre-judge.

Each of us has a huge capacity to learn and to achieve. Being ever alert makes the task of becoming all we are capable of becoming so much easier.

Kindness makes for much better teamwork.

When you see a successful individual, a champion, you can be very sure that you are looking at an individual who pays great attention to the perfection of minor details.

If you let social activities take precedence over your academic activities, then you will soon lose your basketball activities.

When you hurry you're more apt to make mistakes. But you have to be quick. If you're not quick you can't get things done.

I don't believe in praying to win.

Success may result in winning, but winning does not necessarily mean you are a success.

Nobody is defeated until he starts blaming somebody else. My advice to you is don't fix the blame. Fix the problem.

Honors are very fleeting, just as fame is; cherish friendship more.

It takes 10 hands to score a basket

Discipline yourself so others won't have to.

Our titles would not have been possible without the unselfishness displayed by all our teams, the team wins, not the individuals

Strive to accomplish the very best you are capable of. Nothing less than your best effort will suffice.

Whatever you're doing, you must have patience.

A life not lived for others is not a life, a game not played for others is not a game.

Be quick but do not hurry.

No individual should take the blame for a loss, because no individual should get the credit for a victory.

Constantly be aware and observing. Always seek to improve yourself and the team.

Never complain about the officiating. It does no good. During the game I don't want to be fighting two opponents.

I like to spend time in the past, with the things that have been important to me.

You better play together as a team or you sit.

In spite of all that doctors know, and their studies never end, the best cure of all when spirits fall is a kind note from a friend.

The close games are usually lost, rather than won. What I mean by that is games are mostly won because of the opponent making mistakes during crucial moments.

It's always about focusing not on the mistakes but on the lessons learned from them.

Make each day a masterpiece.

Always think of passing the ball before shooting it.

A mentor must always guide, never push. It was my job to listen to them, offer my perspective, and encourage them to pursue the ideals they believed to be true.

The greatest ally you have to get things working well and the players performing as a team is the bench. Don't be afraid to use it, either for the star player or anyone else.