Words from Wooden – Tuesday edition
Jay made a mistake, but I did not mind. When he was on my staff at UCLA he had the task of developing Lew Alcindor’s inside skills when Lew was a freshman. Jay was imaginative in creating drills that kept Lew’s attention, but the big man’s knees started to get sore. Lew told the trainer, but he did not tell Jay. We had to back off of the jumping drills for a while. Jay’s mistake was one of commission, not omission. It was the right kind of mistake to make.
The person who is afraid to risk failure seldom has to face success. I expected my players to make mistakes, as long as they were mistakes of commission. A mistake of commission happens when you are doing what should be done but don’t get the results you want, such as anticipating a pass by the opposing player but not actually picking it off.
I didn’t want mistakes of omission. That happens when you are not doing something you should be doing, such as failing to cut off the baseline. I would rather have a player try to make a play and fail than be afraid to try.
I wanted my players to be doers. I told them not to be afraid to act. The greatest mistake of all is not taking action when action is needed. The team that makes the most mistakes usually wins, if those mistakes aren’t careless.
You can make mistakes and not be a failure if you give it your full effort. Effort includes both preparation and execution. You are never a failure if you gave it your all, unless you blame others for your mistakes. When you place blame, you’re making excuses; when you’re making excuses, you can’t evaluate yourself; and without self-evaluation, failure is inevitable.
You are going to make mistakes. Just make sure you make ther right mistakes.
– John Wooden
