CLARK'S TALES: ONE INCREDIBLE COACH--"MAKE EACH DAY YOUR MASTERPIECE!"

As the college basketball season unfolds, I think of an incredible coach named John Wooden, who died in 2010 at the age of 99. He was named The Greatest Coach of the Twentieth Century, but he was so much more than a basketball coach. He was the caring, dedicated teacher, who recognized the life long impact a teacher could have. He once said, "After my father, my teachers had the most profound impact on my life." He offered this advice--"Make each day your masterpiece."

John Wooden's UCLA teams won 88 straight games, an amazing accomplishment, and in addition, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Few people probably know that he was also an All-American as a player. But true to himself, he reminded his players that "what you are as a person is far more important than what you are as a basketball player." He once said, "Teaching players during practice was what coaching was all about to me."

John Wooden never forgot about the note card his father gave him when he graduated from a country grade school. On it were suggestions to follow along the road of life.

Those important suggestions included being true to yourself, helping others, reading good books, giving thanks for your blessings, valuing friendship, and praying for guidance. Coach Wooden remarked in his book, The Wisdom of Wooden, "My father told me over and over and over that nothing is stronger than gentleness." He added, "Life goes by in a flicker. We are all pilgrims passing through on our way to eternity. Each day matters. Make each day your masterpiece."

To John Wooden, there was nothing more important in the world than family and love. When his wife Nellie died after decades of marriage, he would go to her grave site on the twenty-first of every month, after writing her a love letter, and return home to place it on her pillow.

For years I followed John Wooden as an exceptional coach, but knew little about his personal side. The book titled The Wisdom of Wooden is wonderfully inspirational, even if you're not a big basketball fan.

Here are some uplifting quotes about Coach Wooden, as well as his own reflections on life and the things we need to value. He was truly one of a kind.

John Wooden:
"It's the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen."
"Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are."
"Love is the most important thing in the world. Hate, we should remove from the dictionary."

Remembering John Wooden and his influence on basketball, as well as the players he coached, here are a few comments by sports writers and commentators who knew him well:

Bob Costas: "One hundred years from now they will still be talking about his accomplishments and his approach."

Dick Enberg: "By any measurement, Coach Wooden will always be the greatest coach/teacher/counselor in the history of his sport--perhaps any sport."

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