Page 162 - How to Create a Winning Organization

Wooden on Leadership
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it happened—and didn’t adversely impact on the behavior or atti-
tude of the rest of the group—I allowed for variations, alternative
methods, and individual creativity. Otherwise, I taught and in-
sisted on a very precise way of doing things.
This applied to all aspects of the game: passing, pivoting, prepar-
ing for a rebound, in-bounding, body balance, faking, feinting,
guarding, shooting, running patterns, and much more. The small
details of performing these tasks were, of course, those I deemed
extremely relevant to our improvement and ultimate success.
Rebounding, for example, included the following specifics:

1. Assume every shot will be missed and produce a subsequent
opportunity to get a rebound.
2. Immediately get your hands shoulder-high, not above your
head. While many coaches instructed players to put both
hands above the head, I didn’t because this position ignores
the fact that the ball often bounces off the backboard or bas-
ket at a lower angle. I wanted our players ready for either a
higher or a lower rebound. A small thing, perhaps, but over
the years I observed it made a difference in performance re-
sults. UCLA players often were able to out-rebound taller
opponents.
3. After steps 1 and 2, go get the ball.

There was much more to it than that—for example, how to
pivot and block out an opposing player near the basket—but those
three directives perhaps illuminate the approach I took to identi-
fying and perfecting some of the physical mechanics of rebound-
ing. I took the same approach to all aspects of execution.
Everything was connected to everything; all details connected to
other details as part of the whole. For example, sweat socks, put on
correctly, reduce the chance of blisters, which, in turn, ensures that