Page 282 - How to Create a Winning Organization

Wooden on Leadership
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team captain for the entire season because of special circumstances.
In 1950, I chose Eddie Sheldrake because he was the only return-
ing starter and also had the additional qualifications of hustle and
setting a good example. In 1966–1967, I appointed Mike Warren
to serve as team captain for the season because, again, he was the
only returning starter, he had great on-court intelligence and hus-
tle, and he set a good example.
Mike Warren’s younger teammates included Lewis Alcindor, Jr.
(Kareem Abdul-Jabbar), Lynn Shackleford, Lucius Allen, and Ken
Heitz, an extremely talented but inexperienced group. I felt Mike
would provide a stabilizing influence on them. When he and his
teammates won the NCAA national championship that year, I saw
no reason to make a change: Mike Warren was renamed captain of
the Bruins for the 1967–1968 season, and again they won a na-
tional championship.
The fourth time I appointed a player as captain for the entire
season was in my final year as coach, 1974–1975. Again, there was
only one returning starter, Dave Meyers, and, like Mike Warren
and Eddie Sheldrake, he possessed the other important qualifica-
tions, namely, hustle and setting a good example.
You’ll see on the accompanying list entitled “Varsity Captains”
that each season has a name listed for a particular year. The list is
misleading in that it suggests we had a “captain” who served for the
entire year. In fact, the player was elected by popular vote only after
the season concluded. At that point, I didn’t mind a popularity
contest.