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 | Jonathan’s Resource Ezine |
Weekly Resources, Ideas and Articles from The Source for Youth Ministry
Tuesday, April 11, 2000
| In This Issue |
- Who Taught Kareem the Hook Shot? A Legacy Much Greater than That
- What Will You Be Remembered For? A Discussion Starter
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| Who Taught Kareem the Hook Shot? A Legacy Much Greater than That |
April 11, 2000
I wish I could take credit for the writing of the following article. More than that, I pray that my ministry would touch as many lives and leave a legacy like that of this man. The following is a piece that Roger Cross, the President of Youth for Christ USA, shared with a small group of us last week. It is from writer Rick Reilly in a recent issue of Sports Illustrated:
“There’s never ben a finer man in American sports than John Wooden, or a finer coach. He won 10 NCAA basketball championships at UCLA, the last in 1975. Nobody has eve come withing six of him. He won 88 straight games between Jan. 30 1971 and Jan. 17 1974. Nobody has come withing 42 since.
So, sometimes, when the Madness of March gets to be too much- too many players trying to make SportsCenter, too few players trying to make assists, too many coaches trying to be homeys, too few coaches willing to be mentors, too many freshmen with out-of-wedlock kids, too few freshmen who will stay in school long enough to become men- I like to go see Coach Wooden. I visit him in his little condo in Encino, 20 minutes northwest of L.A., and hear him say things like ?Gracious sakes alive!’ and tell stories about teaching ?Lewis’ the hook shot. Lewis Alcindor, that is. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
There has never been another coach like Wooden, quiet as an April snow and square as a game of checkers: loyal to one woman, one school, one way: walking around campus in his sensible shoes and Jimmy Stewart morals. He’d spend a half hour the first day of practice teaching his men how to put on a sock. ?Wrinkles can lead to blisters,’ he’d warn. These huge players would sneak looks at one another and roll their eyes. Eventually they’d do it right. ?Good,’ he’d say. ?And now for the other foot.’
Of the 180 players who played for him, Wooden knows the whereabouts of 172. Of course, it’s not hard when most of them call, checking on his health, secretly hoping to hear some of his simple life lessons so that they can write them on the lunch bags of their kids, who will roll their eyes. ?Discipline yourself, and others won’t need to,’ Coach would say. ?Never lie, never cheat, never steal,’ Coach would say. ?Earn the right to be proud and confident.’
You played for him, you played by his rules: Never score with out acknowledging a teammate. One word of profanity, and you’re done for the day. Treat your opponent with respect.
He believed in hopelessly out-of-date stuff that never did anything but win championships. No dribbling behind the back or through the legs. ?There’s no need,’ he’d say. No UCLA basketball number was retired under his watch. ?What about the fellows who wore that number before? Didn’t they contribute to the team?’ he’d say. No long hair, no facial hair. ?They take too long to dry, and you could catch cold leaving the gym,’ he’d say.
That one drove his players bonkers. One day, All America center Bill Walton showed up with a full beard. ?It’s my right,’ he insisted. Wooden asked if he believed that strongly. Walton said he did. ?That’s good, Bill,’ Coach said. ?I admire people who have strong beliefs and stick by them. I really do. We’re going to miss you.’ Walton shaved it right then and there. Now Walton calls once a week to tell Coach he loves him.
It’s always too soon when you have to leave the condo and go back out into the real world, where the rules are so much grayer and the teams so much worse. As Wooden shows you to the door, you take one last look around. The framed report cards of the great-grandkids. The boxes of jelly beans peeking out from under the favorite wooden chair. The dozens of pictures of his late wife Nellie.
He’s almost 90 now, you think. A little more hunched over than last time. Steps a little smaller. You hope it’s not the last time you see him. He smiles. ?I’m not afraid to die,’ he says. ?Death is my only chance to be with her again.’
Problem is, we still need him here.”
| What Will You Be Remembered For? A Discussion Starter |
April 11, 2000
I hope that the above article is a personal challenge to most of us to think about the love we show for students. This article can also be used as a great discussion starter for students (or staff on a staff retreat). Many of you have done discussions on death. Some of you may have even done an exercise where kids write there own epitaph for their gravestone. If you haven’t, the above article works as a great wrap-up.
Give kids a piece of paper and a pen. Tell them that they are dead, but they have the rare privilege of writing their own epitaph. You can help provoke thinking by asking them the following questions:
What is it that you want to be remembered for?
What do you want people to say about you at your funeral?
Write your epitaph- the words on your gravestone that people remember you by:
What actions in your life do you need to work on, to make these statements true?
Jonathan McKee
Jonathan McKee is the author of over twenty books including the brand new The Guy's Guide to FOUR BATTLES Every Young Man Must Face; The Teen’s Guide to Social Media & Mobile Devices; If I Had a Parenting Do Over; and the Amazon Best Seller - The Guy's Guide to God, Girls and the Phone in Your Pocket. He speaks to parents and leaders worldwide, all while providing free resources for youth workers on TheSource4YM.com. Jonathan, his wife Lori, and their three kids live in California.