I have been thinking a lot about John Wooden, the legendary basketball coach from UCLA, who died a few weeks ago. Imagine! He was almost 100 yrs. old. Through the years, I have used his quotes over and over again with my kids as they did their sports’ competitions.
This weekend, I went to my grandchildren’s swim meet and I was taken back to all of those hot, long Saturdays that I spent years ago with my “kids”. All of the same issues: when to disqualify a 6-yr. old, how to encourage and instruct at the same time, how to get that VERY loud parent to cheer for the TEAM rather than just his own kid… Anyway, I find that John’s quotes work just fine for kids, even the very young ones.
“If you’re not making mistakes, then you’re not doing anything. I’m positive that a doer makes mistakes.”
“It’s not so important who starts the game but who finishes it.”
And this one is really for the parents, I think.
“Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what your really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.”
We need more coaches like John Wooden….
