Remembering John Wooden: Master of Inspiration, Fundamentals Dies at 99

John Wooden was nearly the both the definition of inspiration and the creator of fundamentals.

He was a winner.

John Wooden still holds the most unbeatable records in sports history with 10 national championships under his belt in 12 tries. His teams won 37 straight NCAA tournament games, four of his teams finished the season 30-0, and his teams won a record 88 consecutive games.

It took him 16 years to win his first national championship, but when he did the team featured no player over 6'5".

He was great.

No man has ever accomplished what he has.

John Wooden will be remembered not for his success, but for the way he accomplished what he did.

He won the right way.

He respected the competition, but worried more about how his team prepared than what the competition was doing.

He never scouted his opponent.

John Wooden expected his team to execute his game plan to perfection. Coach had a clear image of how the game of basketball was supposed to be played and conveyed that image to his players.

He coached fundamentals and nothing more, and judging by his success, I would say it worked.

The story of him teaching his players the right way to do every daily function and why they must do it that way to be great still rings through my head. Teaching his player the right was to put on their socks, tie their shoes, and eventually moving into the basics of the game of basketball.

And he had a reason for everything.

Blisters are prevented by wearing your socks correctly and ankle injuries are prevented by tightening your shoes adequately.

In this case, they were truly learning the fundamentals.

The pyramid of success symbolizes everything coach Wooden preached.

Competitive greatness, poise, confidence, condition, skill, team spirit, self control, alertness, initiative, intentness, industriousness, friendship, loyalty, cooperation, enthusiasm.

All key ingredients to the success of any team, and Coach Wooden understood that.

He was truly a great coach, player, and a human being.

He never spoke about winning, but understood that if his team followed his game plan, they stuck together, and, most importantly, they respected one another, the success would come.

His players and, for that matter, his opponents, respected him for that.

John Wooden passed away at the age of 99 due to natural causes, but his legacy will carry on through the words that he spoke.

I will leave you with his words of inspiration, those that have moved so many of us.

"A coach is someone who can give correction without causing resentment. "

"Ability is a poor man's wealth."  

"Adversity is the state in which man mostly easily becomes acquainted with himself, being especially free of admirers then."

"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."

"Be quick, but don't hurry"

"Be prepared and be honest."

"Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do."

"Don't measure yourself by what you have accomplished, but by what you should have accomplished with your ability."

"Failure is not fatal, but failure to change might be.  "

"It isn't what you do, but how you do it."

"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."

"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."

"It's the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen."

"Never mistake activity for achievement."

"You can't let praise or criticism get to you. It's a weakness to get caught up in either one."

"Talent is God given. Be humble. Fame is man-given. Be grateful. Conceit is self-given. Be careful."

"Things turn out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out."

"You can't live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you."

"There are many things that are essential to arriving at true peace of mind, and one of the most important is faith, which cannot be acquired without prayer."