Wooden Wins! - Patience
Our Pyramid of Success focus this month will be on Patience. At American Heritage Charter Schools, we celebrate the core value of “Honoring One Another”.

Patience Is Key to Achieving Worthwhile Goals
By Craig Impelman

In July of 2009 Sporting News unveiled a list of sports’ 50 greatest coaches of all time, as selected by a panel of 118 Hall of Famers, championship coaches and other experts.

John Wooden, who at UCLA won a record 10 Division I men’s basketball championships in 12 years, was a runaway winner. Coach Wooden received 57 first-place votes from the panel, which included seven World Series-winning managers, four Super Bowl champion coaches and the winningest coaches in the NBA, NHL and college basketball. Green Bay Packers great Vince Lombardi came in second place in SN’s rankings, receiving 20 first-place votes.

This was a great honor, but it is sometimes forgotten that John Wooden won his first National Championship in his 29th year of coaching.
The following are some steps in that journey:

1. When Coach Wooden became the head coach at UCLA in 1948, he was led to believe that his team would have a new arena by the end of his third season. The arena was not ready for the team until 1965, at the start of John Wooden’s eighteenth season.
2. In 1950 UCLA made the NCAA Tournament but was eliminated in the first round.
3. In 1952 UCLA made the NCAA Tournament but was eliminated in the first round.
4. In 1956 UCLA made the NCAA Tournament but was eliminated in the first round.
5. In 1959 Coach Wooden had the poorest season of his UCLA career winning 14 games and losing 12.
6. In 1962 UCLA made it to the Final Four but lost in the Semi Finals.
7. In 1963 Arizona State defeated UCLA 93-79 in the first game of the NCAA Tournament, and the final score made the game sound closer than it was. Arizona State was leading 62-31 at halftime. That season was Coach Wooden’s 16th at UCLA; that appearance was his fifth NCAA tournament. In those tournament games, he had a painful record of only three wins and nine losses – the worst record of any of the coaches that participated in the tournament that year.
8. In 1964 Coach won the first of his ten National Championships.

In Coach Wooden’s Pyramid of Success, Coach Wooden summed it up this way:
“Our society has been permeated by a mind-set of immediate gratification. Simply put, people are impatient. They want too much too soon. They have lost sight of an overarching truth: In life, worthwhile accomplishments and acquisitions take time. Usually the better the reward, the more time it takes to acquire it.”

Key Idea: “Goals achieved with little effort are seldom worthwhile or lasting.” –John Wooden

@Home 
Everyday we are faced with circumstances that test our patience. How would you feel if you were the man in this video? Discuss situations that are difficult to have patience in. Can you come up with some ways to practice patience this week? Help your child understand that they can learn to control emotions and actions even when feeling angry, frustrated or disappointed. 

On Campus

Activity:

1. Think about these quotes:
   “Patience - the gift of being able to see past the emotion.” - Rodney Williams
   “Why is patience so important? Because it makes us pay attention.” -Paulo Coelho
2. Read this article on the power of patience.

Staff Response:  Can you think of a time or situation when it was difficult for you to be patient?  What are your triggers?  What steps do you take to help find your patience?  Why do you feel that it is important to be patient?  

In the Class

Either have the students create written responses or have  a classroom discussion about the following questions: 

1. What does it mean to be patient? 

2. When should you be patient? 

3.When is it difficult to be patient?

4. Why is it important to show patience? 

5. What happens when you do not show patience? 

On the Field

Read: Patience is a quality we often overlook on the athletics field. We usually associate success with speed, action, and explosivness; but very rarely is success associated with patience. 

Patience is a skill of the expierenced. Usually it is a savy veteran player who understands that patience allows you to take in all your surroundings. When executed correctly, patience can be a tool that helps the best athletes seieze their moment at the right time.

Watch: This video about patience and discuss with your team:https://youtu.be/aiaKJIo2-L0

Do/Ask: How can you show patience in your team today? What place does patience have on your field/court/pool? What actions can we take to be more patient people?