Don Meyer: Player Praise and Criticism

"Shout praise and whisper criticism."
- Don Meyer

Hubie Brown: Be Your Own Coach

"Don't try to imitate other coaches.  Be your own person with your own style and do your own thing."
- Hubie Brown

Mike McConathy: Relationships

"Building relationships is the key for being happy as a coach.  Players must want to play for you.  If they are comfortable with you, they will work hard for you."
- Mike McConathy, Northwestern State University

John Wooden's Pyramid of Success: Team Spirit

"An eagerness to sacrifice personal interest or glory for the welfare of all."
- John Wooden

John Wooden's Pyramid of Success: Cooperation

"Cooperation - the sharing of ideas, information, creativity, responsibilities, and tasks; a priority of good leadership.  The only thing that is not shared is blame.  A strong leader accepts blame and gives credit (when deserved) to others."
- John Wooden

John Wooden's Pyramid of Success: Skill

"You'd better be able to execute quickly and properly.  That's skill.  As much as I value experience, and I value it greatly, I'd rather have a lot of skill and less experience than a lot of experience and very little skill."
- John Wooden

John Wooden's Pyramid of Success: Self-Control

"Self-Control is most essential for discipline and mastery of emotions.  You cannot function effectively unless your emotions are under control.  That is why I did not engage in pre-game pep talks to stir emotions to a sudden peak.  Control of self is difficult when an individual is riled up with emotions.  Careless mistakes are likely to occur."
- John Wooden

Sun Tzu: Winning Mindset

"Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win."

- Sun Tzu

John Wooden's Pyramid of Success: Alertness

"There is something going on around us at all times from which we can acquire knowledge if we have alertness.  Too often we get lost in our tunnel vision and we don't see the things that are right in front of us for the taking, for the learning."
- John Wooden

John Wooden: A True Winner

"I always tried to make clear that basketball is not the ultimate.  It is of small importance in comparison to the total life we live.  There is only one kind of life that truly wins, and that is the one that places faith in the hands of the Savior.  Until that is done, we are on an aimless course that runs in circles and goes nowhere."
- John Wooden

Shaq on... Shaq

"I think fans say, 'He's big, he can run, he's funny, he dives on the floor, he dunks with his left or right hand, and he's got lots of tricks in his bag.'  If I was a fan, I'd come watch me play, too."
- Shaquille O'Neal

John Wooden's Pyramid of Success: Enthusiasm

"Simply put, I mean you must love that which you do.  Your heart must be in it.  Without enthusiasm you cannot work up to your fullest ability and potential; you're just going through the motions.  And just going through the motions won't bring you to the level of competitive greatness we seek whether in basketball, business, or life."
- John Wooden

John Wooden's Pyramid of Success: Competitive Greatness

"For more than half a century I have defined Competitive Greatness as follows: 'A real love for the hard battle, knowing it offers the opportunity to be at your best when your best is required.'"
- John Wooden

Roberto Clemente: Making a Difference

"Anytime you have the opportunity to make a difference in this world and you don't, you are wasting your time on Earth."
- Roberto Clemente

Frank Martin: Demand more...

"All of us grown ups, let's stop blaming kids by saying that 'they are different.'  No, they are not.  We are different. We accept and demand less of them."
- Frank Martin

Muhammad Ali: Courage

"He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life."
- Muhammad Ali

John Wooden's Pyramid of Success: Loyalty

"It is impossible to be a good leader without loyalty to your organization - your team - just as it is impossible to be a good citizen without loyalty to your country."
- John Wooden

Magic Johnson: What kids need...

"All kids need is a little help, a little hope, and somebody who believes in them."
- Earvin "Magic" Johnson

John Wooden's Pyramid of Success: Friendship

"The two qualities of friendship so important for a leader to possess and instill in team members are respect and camaraderie.  To me these are the most noteworthy characteristics of true friendship as it pertains to leadership."
- John Wooden

Coach Wooden: Teaching

"No written word, no spoken plea, can teach our youth what they should be, nor all the books on all the shelves, it's what the teachers are themselves."
- John Wooden