Greatest Coach Ever (The Heart of a Coach Series)

Athletes Fellowship of Christian

Description

Coach John Wooden's teams won 10 NCAA mens basketball championships at UCLA and Sporting News magazine named him the greatest coach of all time. Yet decades after he retired and now after his passing, his wisdom, capsulated so clearly in his famous Pyramid of Success, continues to guide new generations of athletes, coaches, and people of all walks of life. In The Greatest Coach Ever, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes features forty tributes from athletes, coaches, and other influential leaders like Bobby Bowden, Tom Osborne, Sue Semrau, Tony Dungy, Mike Singletary, Tamika Catchings, Joe Girardi, Jim Tressel, and David Robinson, paying honor to Coach Wooden and reflecting on how his example has challenged and changed them. Their stories can challenge and change your life, too. Coach Wooden appreciated the tributes and the honor of being called the greatest coach ever, but felt uncomfortable with the title. He was eager to see that this book points to the one whom he calls the greatest coach ever. "I am happy being remembered as a man of integrity. I like that"--John Wooden, May 21 2010

Sujets

• Philosophie et théologie

Informations

• Publié par: Baker Publishing Group
• Date de parution: 26 juillet 2010
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781441224989
• Langue: English

Extrait

IN MEMORIAM

JOHN WOODEN
OCTOBER 14, 1910—JUNE 4, 2010
The path between the Regal Books office and the modest condominium in Encino was a familiar one. Many times during the past nine years, Regal staff members, with manuscript, page proofs or printed books in hand, had come to meet with a legend. So it was on May 21, exactly two weeks before John Wooden passed into the presence of God. Our senior editor had the honor of sitting with Coach John Wooden that day, reading excerpts from this book of tributes put together by the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Over the years, Coach often expressed his affection for FCA, and he seemed satisfied in his own books published by Regal and others that his story, principles and vision had been well documented. So he wasn’t in a hurry to write any more books himself, but many times he had said that if there was anything else he could do for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, he would like that.
Coach Wooden was a man of deep faith. Regal editors often prayed with him, and did so on that Friday in May. He also had the greatest of hearts for young people. One time he said his “claim to fame” was holding future astronaut Sally Ride in his arms when she was a baby (he knew her parents). And ironically, Coach indicated he wasn’t so concerned about reaching his onehundreth birthday, but he wanted to see the birth of his first great-great grandchild, due to his oldest great-granddaughter Cori several weeks before his birthday. He will see that next generation, just from a different view. So it fits perfectly that Coach would want to put his name and part of his legacy behind FCA. In a small way, this book fulfulls his wish.
On that day in May, when we read to him the contents of this book, he listened to how his words and his life had deeply touched each contributor, who in turn has touched so many others. He nodded, made a few corrections (always the school teacher to the end) and paused a few times, letting the passion behind the words sink in. Each reading obviously meant much to him, but one seemed to stand out. He nodded and hinted at a smile when hearing that Kristy Curry had quoted a poem he had once presented to her. The poem, one of his favorites, is titled “A Little Fellow Follows Me.” The words led Coach to acknowledge with satisfaction having received notes from junior high students in Debra Lees’s class at Whittier Christian School. They had read his Pyramid of Success Playbook and had written to thank him. Also displayed in his living room that day in May was a photo of yet another class of young students holding another Wooden book. “I never thought this would happen,” he said with great satisfaction, seeing that the younger generations are listening and following.
Coach, indeed, little fellows of both genders, of all colors and of all ages have followed and continue to follow your great example of a life well lived.
This book is offered to this and future generations in memory of John Wooden, a man of integrity.

© 2010 Fellowship of Christian Athletes
Published by Revell a division of Baker Publishing Group P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287 www.revellbooks.com
Revell edition published 2014
ISBN 978-1-4412-2498-9
Previously published by Regal Books
Ebook edition originally created 2010
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.
All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible . © 2001, Broadman and Holman Publishers, Lifeway Christian Resources, 127 Ninth Avenue North, Nashville, TN 37234.
Other versions used are:
KJV — King James Version. Authorized King James Version.
THE MESSAGE— Scripture taken from THE MESSAGE. Copyright © by Eugene H. Peterson, 1993, 1994, 1995. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.
NIV —Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version ®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.
NLT —Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation , copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved
Dan Britton, General Editor. Chad Bonham and Shea Vailes, Contributing Editors.
All quotes from John Wooden are taken from Coach Wooden One-on-One and Coach Wooden’s Pyramid of Success . Used by permission.
This book is dedicated to John Wooden, his family, and to every coach who has continued Coach’s legacy of being a teacher first and a coach second.
Contents
Introduction: “Coach”
Dan Britton, Executive Vice President, Fellowship of Christian Athletes
1. Good Things Take Time
Les Steckel, President, Fellowship of Christian Athletes and Former NFL Coach
2. Success Redefined
Jim Tressel, Head Coach, Football, Ohio State University
3. First Things First
Dave Pasch, Broadcaster, ESPN and Arizona Cardinals
4. God’s Playbook
Bobby Bowden, Former Head Coach, Football, Florida State University
5. Active Duty
David Robinson, Hall of Fame NBA Center, San Antonio Spurs
6. Constructive Correction
Tony Dungy, Former Head Coach, Indianapolis Colts
7. Staying True
Tamika Catchings, WNBA Forward, Indiana Fever
8. Be Prepared
Gary Cunningham, Former NCAA Forward and Head Coach, UCLA
9. The Hard Way
Steve Alford, Head Coach, Men’s Basketball, University of New Mexico
10. The Good Fight
Sherri Coale, Head Coach, Women’s Basketball, University of Oklahoma
11. The Honest Truth
Jerry Colangelo, Executive Director, USA Basketball
12. Giving Up Control
Joe Girardi, Manager, New York Yankees
13. Count on Me
Ruth Riley, WNBA Forward, San Antonio Silver Stars
14. Do As I Do
Lorenzo Romar, Head Coach, Men’s Basketball, University of Washington
15. The Real Deal
Pat Williams, Senior Vice President, Orlando Magic
16. One Purpose
Ralph Drollinger, Former NCAA Center, UCLA, and Founder, Capitol Ministries
17. Random Acts of Kindness
Denny Crum, Former Head Coach, Men’s Basketball, University of Louisville
18. Family Matters
Kristy Curry, Head Coach, Women’s Basketball, Texas Tech University
19. Role of a Lifetime
Jay Carty, Former Assistant Coach, Men’s Basketball, UCLA, and Founder, Yes! Ministries
20. Legacy
John Maxwell, Author, Motivational Speaker, EQUIP
21. Shaping Up
Doug McIntosh, Former NCAA Center, UCLA
22. The Real You
John Naber, Olympic Champion, Swimming
23. Prayer Works
Napoleon Kaufman, Former NFL Running Back, Oakland Raiders
24. Friends Are Friends
Jane Albright, Head Coach, Women’s Basketball, University of Nevada at Reno
25. Competitive Paradox
Mike Dunlap, Assistant Coach, Men’s Basketball, St. John’s University
26. Outside the Box
Josh Davis, Olympic Champion, Swimming
27. Change of Plans
Mike Jarvis, Head Coach, Men’s Basketball, Florida Atlantic University
28. The Value of Inclusion
Ernie Johnson, NBA Studio Host, TNT and NBA Network
29. The Simple Life
Kyle Korver, NBA Guard, Utah Jazz
30. The Greatest Word
Anthony Muñoz, Hall of Fame NFL Lineman, Cincinnati Bengals
31. Noble Goals
Sue Semrau, Head Coach, Women’s Basketball, Florida State University
32. Under Control
Junior Bridgeman, Former NBA Forward-Guard, Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Clippers
33. The Power of Patience
Deb Patterson, Head Coach, Women’s Basketball, Kansas State University
34. Slow and Steady
Bruce Weber, Head Coach, Men’s Basketball, University of Illinois
35. Marked by Passion
Mike Singletary, Head Coach, San Francisco 49ers
36. Working It Out
Dr. Jim Reeve, Senior Pastor, Faith Community Church, West Covina, California
37. Disciplined to Win
Marv Dunphy, Head Coach, Men’s Volleyball, Pepperdine University
38. The Greater Good
Keith Erickson, Former NCAA and NBA Forward, UCLA and Los Angeles Lakers
39. All for One
Tom Osborne, Former Head Coach, Football, University of Nebraska
40. The Greatest Coach Ever
Les Steckel, President, Fellowship of Christian Athletes and Former NFL Coach
Acknowledgments
Impacting the World for Christ Through Sports
Coach’s Mandate
Competitor’s Creed
Back Ads
THE GREATEST COACH EVER
INTRODUCTION
“Coach”
On July 29, 2009, Sporting News Magazine did the unthinkable. The publication posted the 50 greatest coaches of all time. That’s right—of all time! What an incredible challenge to narrow down the list to just 50!
An even greater challenge was choosing who received the number one spot. Who would you pick as the “greatest coach ever”? According to S porting News Magazine’s list, John Wooden deserved the top honor.
Why Coach Wooden? Maybe it was because he won 10 national championships at UCLA. Perhaps it was because he became the coach that all the other coaches looked to as the benchmark of success. Either way, John Wooden was crowned the ultimate “Coach,” a title that players, friends, fans, admirers and others have called him for more than 75 years.
Actually, Coach never wanted this award, and he felt uncomfortable being tagged with the title. He preferred someone else to be recognized. His reaction may provide some insight as to why he is the greatest. He coached with humility and confidence. He learned the art of mixing together these two seemingly opposite traits—a feat that many others failed to accomplish.
His purpose in coaching was to instill greatness in others. He was committed to teaching, inspiring and motivating people, and he empowered his players to do great things.
For Coach, greatness never had anything t