Top 400 John Wooden Quotes (2024 Update)
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351. “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

352. “You may be better than the rest, but you are not a success until you have made the effort to become the best you can be.”

— John Wooden

353. “The player who puts the ball through the hoop has ten hands.”

— John Wooden

354. “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

355. “You cannot antagonize and be a positive influence, and you will antagonize when you discipline through emotion.”

— John Wooden

356. “If pursuing material things becomes your only goal, you will fail in so many ways. Besides, in time all material things go away.”

— John Wooden

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

— John Wooden

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

— John Wooden

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

— John Wooden

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

— John Wooden

361. “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

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

— John Wooden

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

— John Wooden

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

— John Wooden

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

— John Wooden

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

— John Wooden

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

— John Wooden

368. “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

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

— John Wooden

370. “To win once you must have talent, but to win again you must have character.”

— John Wooden

371. “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

372. “I’m glad I was a teacher.”

— 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. “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

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

— John Wooden

376. “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

377. “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

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

— 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. “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

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

— John Wooden

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

— John Wooden

384. “Wisdom subdues bigotry.”

— John Wooden

385. “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

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

— John Wooden

387. “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

388. “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

389. “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

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

— John Wooden

391. “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

392. “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

393. “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

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

— John Wooden

395. “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

396. “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

397. “The life lessons taught by John Wooden have become legend. Here’s a collection of some of the greatest ‘Woodenisms.’”

— John Wooden

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

— John Wooden

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

— John Wooden

400. “Winning games, titles and championships isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, but getting there, the journey, is a lot more than it’s cracked up to be.”

— John Wooden