Coaching Quotes by John Wooden

Do passing drills that come from your offense.

— John Wooden

I am not a strategic coach; I am a practice coach.

— John Wooden

Everything we know, we learned from someone else!

— John Wooden

You've never heard of them- and you never will .

— John Wooden

You haven't taught until they've learned.

— John Wooden

Conditioning is essential to success in basketball.

— John Wooden

The team is the star, never an individual player.

— John Wooden

Be quick without hurrying.

— John Wooden

Over-coaching can be more harmful than under-coaching. Keep it simple!

— John Wooden

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

— John Wooden

“A good coach can change a game. A great coach can change a life.”

— John Wooden

Teaching players during practices was what coaching was all about to me.

— John Wooden

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

— John Wooden

Promise to wear a cheerful appearance at all times and give every person you meet a smile.

— John Wooden

Good players can take coaching; great players can take coaching and learn.

— John Wooden

A player who makes a team great is better than a great player.

— John Wooden

Team spirit means you are willing to sacrifice personal considerations for the welfare of all. That defines a team player.

— John Wooden

As a leader, you will receive a large amount of praise and criticism and you should not unduly affected by either.

— John Wooden

I never let our players get satisfied, I never let our Coaches get satisfied, I was never satisfied. We can always do…

— John Wooden

Perfection is impossibility but striving for perfection is not. Do the best you can. That is what counts.

— John Wooden

I do not want players who do not have a keen desire to win and do not play hard and aggressively to…

— John Wooden

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

— John Wooden

You must have respect, which is a part of love, for those under your supervision. Then they will do what you ask…

— John Wooden

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

— John Wooden

No matter how you total success in the coaching profession it all comes down to a single factor - talent. There may…

— John Wooden

When I was coaching I always considered myself a teacher. Teachers tend to follow the laws of learning better than coaches who…

— John Wooden

In 1948, I began coaching basketball at UCLA. Each hour of practice we worked very hard. Each day we worked very hard.…

— John Wooden

Profound responsibilities come with teaching and coaching. You can do so much good–or harm. It’s why I believe that next to parenting,…

— John Wooden

The general feeling is, if you don't treat everyone the same you're showing partiality. To me, that's when you show the most…

— John Wooden

I'd be satisfied just coaching in high school. I turned down a number of colleges when I was teaching in South Bend,…

— John Wooden

Motivating through fear may work in the short term to get people to do something, but over the long run I believe…

— John Wooden

In the end, it's about the teaching, and what I always loved about coaching was the practices. Not the games, not the…

— John Wooden

Drink deeply from good books.

— John Wooden

Build shelter against a rainy day.

— John Wooden

Happiness begins where selfishness ends.

— John Wooden

Make friendship a fine art.

— John Wooden

Be quick, but don't hurry.

— John Wooden

The team with the most talent usually wins.

— John Wooden

It's not what you teach, it's what you emphasize.

— John Wooden

Teamwork is not a preference, it is a requirement.

— John Wooden