Football Quotes by John Wooden

“The key ingredient to stardom is the team.”

— John Wooden

Place the team above yourself always.

— John Wooden

Winning breeds winning.

— John Wooden

It takes 10 hands to score a basket

— John Wooden

The coach is first of all a teacher.

— John Wooden

The team with the most talent usually wins.

— John Wooden

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

— John Wooden

The best way to improve your team is to improve yourself.

— John Wooden

The main ingredient of stardom is the rest of the team.

— John Wooden

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

— John Wooden

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

— John Wooden

The best competition I have is against myself to become better

— 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

When you give total effort - everything you have - the score can never make you a loser. And when you do…

— John Wooden

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

— John Wooden

One of the greatest motivating things that a coach has is the bench. They all love to play, all of them. You…

— John Wooden

I found the bench to be the greatest ally when I had to make individuals comply with what was best for the…

— John Wooden

The close games are usually lost, rather than won. What I mean by that is games are mostly won because of the…

— 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

Although I wanted my players to work to win, I tried to convince them they had always won when they had done…

— John Wooden

I also wanted my basketball players to know that I really cared about them. Forget basketball; as a person, I cared, I…

— John Wooden

For an athlete to function properly, he must be intent. There has to be a definite purpose and goal if you are…

— 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

I constantly caution our teams: 'Play your game, just play your game. Eventually, if you play your game, stick to your style,…

— John Wooden

“I remain convinced to this day that compassion like that—sincerely caring for your players and maintaining an active interest in their lives,…

— John Wooden

Each of us must make the effort to contribute to the best of our ability according to our individual talents. And then…

— John Wooden

The coach must never forget that he is, first of all, a teacher. He must come (be present), see (diagnose), and conquer…

— John Wooden

We can become great in the eyes of others, but we'll never become successful when we compromise our character and show disloyalty…

— John Wooden

Losing is only temporary and not encompassing. You must simply study it, learn from it, and try hard not to lose the…

— 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

I discovered early on that the player who learned the fundamentals of basketball is going to have a much better chance of…

— John Wooden

“Many building custodians across the country would tell you that UCLA left the shower and dressing room the cleanest of any team.…

— John Wooden

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

— John Wooden

It's not how big you are, it's how big you play

— John Wooden

It's not so important who starts the game but who finishes it.

— John Wooden

A gifted player, who is not a team player, will ultimately hurt the team.

— John Wooden

Players with fight never lose a game, they just run out of time

— John Wooden

Conditioning is essential to success in basketball.

— John Wooden

Nobody is a real loser-until they start blaming somebody else.

— John Wooden