COACH WOODEN'S 3 SECRETS HE SHARED WITH DALE BROWN

I have head the following story many times listening to my mentor Dale Brown at numerous clinics but I am glad that Pat Williams decided to share it in his excellent book "Coach Wooden."

Dale Brown told me, "I always end my coaching clinics by telling of the day I visited John Wooden at his home in Los Angeles when I was a very young coach.  At the end of our visit, Coach Wooden and his wife, Nell, walked me to my car.  John put his arm around me and said, 'Dale, I really enjoyed spending time with your.  But I could have saved you a lot of time if I had just told you my secrets of coaching.'

"I practically broke my neck reaching for my pen and pad so I could scribble down those nuggets of Coach's wisdom.  I thought, this is really going to do it for me!

"Coach said, 'One, make sure you always have better players than the team you play.  Two make sure that your players put the team above themselves.  Three -- and this is a very important point -- always practice simplicity with constant repetition, and you will be successful.'"

Dale Brown never forgot  that advice, and he never forgot Coach Wooden's kindness.