John Wooden

John WoodenCongressman Brad Sherman's office [Public domain]Coach John Wooden was one of the best coaches ever. He coached men's basketball at UCLA. He led them to many championships. I consider him a hero because he was always trying to make everyone else's life better. John Wooden developed the Wooden Awards. They give awards to the best players but also give money to schools for scholarships. This gives more people the opportunity to go to college, if they can't afford it. Even though he was a basketball coach he always put his players' education first. He not only taught them about basketball, he also taught them about life.

John Wooden grew up on a farm in a small town in Indiana. He went to grade school, and Martinsville High School in Indiana. He met a girl named Nellie, whom he married later on in his life, in high school. After high school he went to Purdue. He played basketball there for Coach Lambert. He really respected how he coached his team and that is why he decided to play there for him. While he was in college he had many different jobs, like waiting tables at a frat house and helping the trainers with the players. A few years later he graduated from college.

He then went on to work at Dayton High School. He did many things there, like being the head coach of the baseball, basketball, and track teams, and supervised the entire physical education program. He also taught English. While he did all that he played professional basketball on the weekends. (There was no NBA at that time.) He did have to do all that work, but he was dedicated to what he did and never quit. I consider that to be heroic. He went on to work at South Bend Central High. After that he enlisted in the NAVY. When he came back from the war he was offered with many job offers. He coached at Indiana State for two years, but he was offered a position to work at UCLA or Minnesota. He ended up going to UCLA.

When John Wooden was coaching he developed the "Pyramid of Success." This was his way of teaching his players how to succeed in basketball and in life. Coach Wooden thought that the way to success was by honest work, cooperation, teamwork, and preparation. John Wooden's definition of success, is "Success is peace of mind, which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming." This quote says that as long as you try as hard as you can at something, then you will be successful. All of those things are in the "Pyramid of Success." He got most of his ideas for the pyramid from his father. His father gave him a piece of paper that said:

1.Be true to yourself,
2.Make each day your masterpiece,
3.Help others,
4.Drink deeply from the good book, especially the Bible,
5.Make friendship a fine art,
6.Build a shelter against a rainy day,
7.Pray for guidance, count and give thanks for your blessings every day.

These seven things are what helped him be so successful in his life. He kept that piece of paper all his life. John Wooden retired after winning 10 national championships at UCLA. Not all of his players went into the NBA, but they learned how to live a successful and honest life.

I consider John Wooden to be a hero because he always put other people before himself. He always thought that his players were more important than anything else. John Wooden's pyramid has changed the lives of many people, not only his players. People put the pyramid in the classrooms, their houses, their work places, and many other places. People are always looking to improve themselves and many of them use the "Pyramid of Success" to do that. He will not only be known as one of the greatest coaches ever, he also will be known as one of the greatest teachers ever. The Wooden Award foundation is still raising thousands of dollars to donate to many different schools.