John Wooden Quote

Mistakes made while expanding boundaries are what I wanted. If we weren't making mistakes, we weren't far enough out on the edge. If we weren't pushing against the walls of our capabilities, we weren't practicing correctly. The time to cut down on turnovers is during games, although we should try to avoid them during practice, too. When the game was tight, I wanted the person taking the last shot to be surprised if he missed. When we needed a basket badly, the player who wanted the ball was the one I wanted to have it. For example, in my next to the last game as a teacher, we were two points behind Louisville with only a few seconds to go. We set up a play for Richard Washington. Afterward a reporter asked, "Why did you pick Washington?" I replied, "Because he's not afraid to make a mistake. He thinks he's a pretty good shooter — and he is — but if he misses he'll think, Well, you can't make them all. He won't be devastated. Therefore, he's harnessed his fear. The others might be thinking, I've got to make it. If that's their thinking, they'll be fearful about missing. I didn't want that. I went with Richard."

From Coach Wooden's Pyramid of Success - book just came out - I love reading stuff by and about John Wooden. Definately an amazing Man of God and a great Teacher and Coach