Football Quotes by John Wooden · Page 2

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

— John Wooden

A Coach must never forget that he is a leader and not merely a person with authority.

— John Wooden

The team is the star, never an individual player.

— John Wooden

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

— John Wooden

A life not lived for others is not a life, a game not played for others is not a game.

— John Wooden

Dictators lead through fear; good coaches do not.

— John Wooden

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

— John Wooden

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

— 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

Our titles would not have been possible without the unselfishness displayed by all our teams, the team wins, not the individuals

— John Wooden

You'd like to see your team reasonably happy, but that's not your job. Gain their respect and get them to accept their…

— John Wooden

The greatest ally you have to get things working well and the players performing as a team is the bench. Don't be…

— John Wooden

Losing does not make you a failure; it is when you blame someone for losing when you become a failure

— John Wooden

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

— 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

There are three things an athlete must do. You must be in physical condition ... You must execute properly and quickly the…

— John Wooden

Since the most important responsibility of a coach in regard to the actual playing of the game is to teach his players…

— 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

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

— John Wooden

Conditioning is essential to success in basketball.

— John Wooden

If I were a young coach today, I would be extremely careful in selecting assistants.

— John Wooden

A coach's primary function should be not to make better players, but to make better people

— John Wooden

Winning and losing aren't all they're cracked up to be, but the trip to the destination is.

— John Wooden

If we, as coaches, aren't teachers, we are nothing

— John Wooden

The best players don't win championships. The best team players win championships.

— John Wooden

If a player's not doing the things he should, put him on the bench. He'll come around.

— John Wooden

I always talked to my players about today. It's the only day that matters.

— John Wooden

The team that makes the most mistakes usually wins, because doers make mistakes

— John Wooden

The better conditioned team will probably win in the long run.

— John Wooden

When you choose to become part of a team, you cease to exist as an individual.

— John Wooden

What you are as a person is far more important that what you are as a basketball player.

— John Wooden

You can lose when you outscore somebody in a game, and you can win when you're outscored.

— John Wooden

A player who makes a team great is more valuable than a great player. Losing yourself in the group, for the good…

— John Wooden

Good coaching is about leadership and instilling respect in your players. Dictators lead through fear - good coaches do not.

— John Wooden

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

— John Wooden