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Wooden on Leadership
246
handed manner that only compounds the problem. Thus, a leader
must both know how to deliver criticism and teach others how to
receive criticism.
NOTES PRIOR TO UCLA’S FIRST
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
Prior to the opening game of the 1963–1964 season that produced
UCLA’s first national championship, I realized we had the makings
of a formidable team. All our starters were returning, and they were
extremely well suited to the demands of executing the Press, a full-
court system of playing defense which we had installed the previ-
ous season. Coupled with UCLA’s fast-break offense, I felt that our
players would be strong contenders for a national championship.
In fact, I even wrote a little poem about my feelings and the
team’s future:
With every starter coming back,
Yes, Walt and Gail and Keith and Jack
And Fred and Freddie* and some more
We could be champs in sixty-four.
Going into the 1963–1964 season, I wrote these notes to myself
as reminders of where I wanted emphasis and improvement. As
much as I believed in the potential of our team, I realized it would
not be realized without continued—ceaseless—efforts to improve.
The notes you see here are a preseason list of things I intended
to work on and, if possible, perfect. It includes “work a lot” (num-
ber 3) on the various systems of the zone press; “work a lot on the
* Walt Hazzard, Gail Goodrich, Keith Erickson, Jack Hirsch, Fred Slaughter, and Fred-
die Goss.