John Wooden, Teaching, And Carolina Panthers Head Coach Ron Rivera

Former San Diego Chargers and Chicago Bears defensive coordinator, new Carolina Panthers Head Coach Ron Rivera said, in his first press conference with Carolina, "We're looking for teachers. We're looking for guys that are going to be really good in the classroom and out on the field, and that will make that commitment to the players.”

Hiring teachers is an excellent first step towards overcoming and going beyond, but for sustained improvement, teachers must become mentors. 

Former NBA MVP Bill Walton On UCLA Coach John Wooden

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WESTWOOD, CA - JUNE 26: Former UCLA and NBA player Bill Walton attends the memorial for former UCLA basketball coach John Wooden June 26, 2010 at Pauley Pavilion on the University of California Los Angeles campus in Westwood, California. Wooden died June

Bill Walton, former NBA and UCLA basketball star, says about legendary UCLA basketball coach John Wooden – who coached Walton – “Wooden did not teach us basketball; he taught us life.” 

UCLA Bruins Legendary Coach John Wooden and Mentoring

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LOS ANGELES, CA - JUNE 06: The likeness of John Wooden, former UCLA men's head basketball coach, is seen on a video board during a moment of silence in memory of Wooden, who passed away on June 4, prior to the Boston Celtics playing against the Los Angel

John Wooden was not just a teacher – John Wooden went beyond teaching into Mentoring. His results on the court, of course, were phenomenal, with ten national championships in twelve years and a career winning percentage over 80%. 

Basketball Coach John Wooden Went Beyond Coaching and Teaching Into Mentoring

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LOS ANGELES, CA - JUNE 06: NBA legends Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Bill Walton say a few words about former UCLA head basketball coach John Wooden who passed away before Game Two of the 2010 NBA Finals betwen the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers at

But John Wooden went beyond just on-court results. His players, after they left UCLA, now had, as Bill Walton says, “learned how to learn.” Wooden’s coaching, his Mentoring, taught his players, his students, how to Live – and within that, they had both the capability and the ability to go beyond and overcome – to always develop. 

For more commentary on Wooden by Bill Walton, please visit http://www.billwalton.com/john-wooden

Carolina Panthers Head Coach Ron Rivera Now Has To Take The Second Step

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INDIANAPOLIS - JANUARY 13: (L-R) Inside linebackers coach, Ron Rivera and Stephen Cooper #54 of the San Diego Chargers talk during a stop in play against the Indianapolis Colts during their AFC Divisional Playoff game at the RCA Dome on January 13, 2008

Ron Rivera has taken the first step of identifying the need for coaches to go beyond coaching into teaching – now, the second step of going beyond teaching into Mentoring must occur for there to be development. 

Read more about the concept of Mentoring in Robert Gilbert’s new e-book, Going Beyond: Vision, the NFL, and the 2010 Carolina Panthers, now available at www.explosivegrowthoutreach.com.