John Wooden and Leadership Essay Example

Introduction John Wooden was the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) men's basketball coach from 1948 to 1975. During that period, he won ten NCAA men's basketball championships, had four undefeated seasons, and once won 88 consecutive games. He also won seven consecutive NCAA championships from 1967 to 1973. To put this all into perspective, Adolph Rupp at the University of Kentucky won four championships, total, and he is second to Wooden. All of these accomplishments are records, but they do not begin to tell the story of the man considered to be the most successful coach in American sports history. Wooden would leave a legacy at UCLA which would set expectations for future coaches at unattainable heights, though he never even discussed winning or losing. Wooden simply considered himself a teacher of good habits. A man who is uncomfortable being thought of as a legend, Wooden never set out to do anything more than to teach young men how to be the best they could be, both at basketball and in life. His discipline, standards, ideals, loyalty, dedication, and self-control were all important factors that would cause him to become the leader at UCLA which all future coaches would be measured against. Whether this is fair or not is certainly debatable, but UCLA has not experienced the successes it had under Wooden since he retired. Therefore, we must explore what shaped John Wooden into such a successful leader, what were the reasons of his unparalleled success, and what UCLA can do, if anything, to once again reach the heights it had experienced under Wooden.

John Wooden's Biography John Robert Wooden was born in Hall, Indiana in 1910. The son of rural farmers, Wooden grew up without much money. This factor would be instrumental in teaching the young Wooden the value of hard work. He was an excellent basketball player, and even earned a scholarship to play at Purdue University in the Big Ten Conference. He went on to earn