Top 400 John Wooden Quotes (2024 Update)
Page 8 of 9

351. “Not everyone is equipped to be a leader, but in a sense, everyone is a leader to someone, even though you’re not equipped. I think parents are a leader to youngsters, teacher are leaders, coaches are leaders, businessmen are leaders.”

— John Wooden

352. “What you are as a person is far more important than what you are as a basketball player.”

— John Wooden

353. “Without organization and leadership toward a realistic goal, there is no chance of realizing more than a small percentage of your potential.”

— John Wooden

354. “Friendship is two-sided. It isn’t a friend just because someone’s doing something nice for you. That’s a nice person. There’s friendship when you do for each other. It’s like marriage – it’s two-sided.”

— John Wooden

355. “Reverse the ball one time for a good shot, two times for a great shot, three times for a layup.”

— John Wooden

356. “You must believe in what you’re doing, that what you’re doing is the proper thing, the right thing. And you must have faith that things will end up as they should, which doesn’t mean as you want them to, but things will work out as they should.”

— John Wooden

357. “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

358. “Selfishness is the greatest challenge for a coach. Most players are more concerned with making themselves better than the team.”

— John Wooden

359. “You can lose when you outscore somebody in a game, and you can win when you’re outscored.”

— John Wooden

360. “Condition comes from hard work during practice and proper mental and moral conduct between practices.”

— John Wooden

361. “Dictators lead through fear; good coaches do not.”

— John Wooden

362. “Well, your greatest joy definitely comes from doing something for another, especially when it was done with no thought of something in return.”

— John Wooden

363. “I continually stress to my players that all I expect from them at practice and in the games is their maximum effort.”

— John Wooden

364. “Promise yourself that you will talk health, happiness, and prosperity as often as possible.”

— John Wooden

365. “Ten strong horses could not pull an empty baby carriage if they worked independently of each other.”

— John Wooden

366. “Nothing can give you greater joy than doing something for another.”

— John Wooden

367. “Always think of passing the ball before shooting it.”

— John Wooden

368. “Promise yourself to make all your friends know there is something in them that is special and that you value.”

— John Wooden

369. “I’ve never stopped trying to do what’s right. I’m not doing it to earn favor with God. I’m doing it because it’s the right thing to do.”

— John Wooden

370. “I talked to the players and tried to make them aware of what was good and bad, but I didn’t try to run their lives.”

— John Wooden

371. “I like to spend time in the past, with the things that have been important to me.”

— John Wooden

372. “My assistants and I often would spend more time planning a practice than the actual practice itself.”

— John Wooden

373. “Defense is a definite part of the game, and a great part of defense is learning to play it without fouling.”

— John Wooden

374. “I’m glad I was a teacher.”

— John Wooden

375. “Too often, we just ask for help instead of really giving thanks for the many things that we’ve had and are so helpful to us that we did nothing to deserve, so we should give thanks each and every day and pray for guidance in helping us along the proper path.”

— John Wooden

376. “You can’t make good decisions that are going to be meaningful, productive, when you lose control, and you have to maintain mental control, emotional control and to be able to perform physically up to your own particular level of competency; you have to keep your emotions under control.”

— John Wooden

377. “We may not be the best conditioned team in the country, but our players think they are.”

— John Wooden

378. “Decisions are more apt to be accepted when you’ve listened to suggestions first. I wanted them to see the reason behind what I asked of them, not to do things just because I said so.”

— John Wooden

379. “I think that in any group activity – whether it be business, sports, or family – there has to be leadership or it wont be successful.”

— John Wooden

380. “In my opinion, being an effective leader requires being an effective listener. The most productive leaders are usually those who are consistently willing to listen and learn.”

— John Wooden

381. “Once you become a good person, then you have a chance of becoming a good basketball player.”

— John Wooden

382. “You better play together as a team or you sit.”

— John Wooden

383. “Don’t permit fear of failure to prevent effort.”

— John Wooden

384. “The outstanding coach is a teacher that gets all his squad to accept the role that he considers to be the most important for the welfare of all.”

— John Wooden

385. “Wisdom subdues bigotry.”

— John Wooden

386. “I don’t believe in praying to win.”

— John Wooden

387. “While you, the leader, can teach many things, character is not taught easily to adults who arrive at your desk lacking it. Be cautious about taking on reclamation projects regardless of the talent they may possess. Have the courage to make character count among the qualities you seek in others.”

— John Wooden

388. “Too many people look on outscoring someone as winning, I never tried to get that across to my players.”

— John Wooden

389. “As I grow older, I appreciate things that I didn’t appreciate much when I was younger. I am thankful more than I used to be. I’ve been reasonably healthy, and I feel blessed. And each morning I can think, this is going to be a good day!”

— John Wooden

390. “I found the bench to be the greatest ally when I had to make individuals comply with what was best for the team.”

— John Wooden

391. “Never complain about the officiating. It does no good. During the game I don’t want to be fighting two opponents.”

— John Wooden

392. “I would not tolerate profanity from anyone, anytime. I’d blow the whistle, pull you from the court and put you on the bench and talk to you before I would put you back in.”

— John Wooden

393. “One of the greatest motivating factors is the pat on the back, although with some individuals, you have to make the pat a little lower or a little harder.”

— John Wooden

394. “Don’t be afraid to fail. The greatest failure of all is failure to act when action is needed. Use the information that you’ve acquired in the past through the experiences you’ve had and act with self-control – but act.”

— John Wooden

395. “The close games are usually lost, rather than won. What I mean by that is games are mostly won because of the opponent making mistakes during crucial moments.”

— John Wooden

396. “Forget favors given; remember those received.”

— John Wooden

397. “When people ask me now if I miss coaching UCLA basketball games, the national championships, the attention, the trophies, and everything that goes with them, I tell them this: I miss the practices.”

— John Wooden

398. “Promise to think only the best, to work only for the best, and to expect only the best from yourself and others.”

— John Wooden

399. “I believe we are most likely to succeed when ambition is focused on noble and worthy purposes and outcomes rather than on goals set out of selfishness.”

— John Wooden

400. “When the legs go, the heart soon follows.”

— John Wooden