John Wooden - Great Coach - Great Man

I have never been much of a "round ball" fan in my life. Maybe its because I never played the game that much when I was in school. One of the greatest coaches of the game was John Wooden. John Wooden was not only one of the greatest basketball coaches to ever coach the game, but was, and is to the day, a man of character and strength. Doug Doyle sent me a note about him and I want to share a portion of it with you. "On the 21st of the month, the best man I know will do what he always does on the 21st of the month. He'll sit down and pen a love letter to his best girl. He'll say how much he misses her and loves her and can't wait to see her again. Then he'll fold it once, slide it in a little envelope and walk into his bedroom. He'll go to the stack of love letters sitting there on her pillow, untie the yellow ribbon, place the new one on top and tie the ribbon again. The stack will be 180 letters high then, because the 21st will be 15 years to the day since Nellie, his beloved wife of 53 years, died. In her memory, he sleeps only on his half of the bed, only on his pillow, only on top of the sheets, never between; with just the old bedspread they shared to keep him warm. There's never been a finer man in American sports than John Wooden, or a finer coach." Our habits speak volumes about our character! There was much more in the piece about his beliefs and principles, all needed in today's world, but seldom found. If you would like to know more about the man, check out "The Official John Wooden" website. Of all the quotes from this great man the one that stands out most in my mind is the following. "There is only one kind of a life that truly wins, and that is the one that places faith in the hands of the Savior. Until that is done, we are on an aimless course that runs in circles and goes nowhere. Material possessions, winning scores, and great reputations are meaningless in the eyes of the Lord, because He knows what we really are and that is all that matters." - John Wooden