How much would you pay for advice from the greatest basketball coach of all time? What if you knew that advice would primarily be about socks?
Famed UCLA basketball coach John Wooden died 16 years ago at the age of 99. Wooden, also know as the “Wizard of Westwood” helmed UCLA’s team for 27 years. During one 12-year stretch, he led the Bruins to an unprecedented 10 national championships. That’s a record that nobody has ever — or will ever — surpass. He retired in 1975.
A year later, when I was 14 years old, I began playing basketball myself for Mammoth HS, a small school in ski town nestled in California’s Eastern Sierra Mountains. I had never played before. So I was in the market for coaching — extreme coaching, the kind that the Wizard of Westwood could offer.
Turns out I was in luck. Wooden was holding a basketball camp for young athletes in Southern California, and I was intent on being there. The only problem was that it came with a hefty price tag: $500 a week. In 1976, that was a lot of money. But, I figured, no sum would be too big if I could learn from the sport’s greatest mind.
So I struck a deal with my dad. If he kicked in half, I would work to kick in the other half. And sure enough, between making beds and bussing tables, I scrounged up $250 and was on my way to California Lutheran University and the John Wooden Basketball Camp.
I arrived on a Sunday afternoon with a few friends and few hundred aspiring hardcourt stars. We were told to get dressed and meet in the gym in 30 minutes, where we figured we’d finally get to meet the heroic coach. For some reason, we were all given an extra pair of socks.
Five minutes after we entered the gymnasium a side door opened. We watched with bated breath. And in walked the greatest coach of all time.
Coach Wooden stepped up to the microphone, tapped it a few times, and began to speak. “Boys,” he said, “I want you to sit down and take off your shoes and socks. You should have two pairs of socks. Now, I want you to take the first pair of socks, turn them inside out, and put them on. Then, take the second pair. Don’t turn them inside out. Put them over the first pair. Then put your shoes back on and tie them up nice and tight. If you do that, you won’t get blisters. Because, boys, you cannot play good basketball with blisters.”
Then he turned and walked out the side door. We never saw him again. In other words, I paid $500 to attend the John Wooden Basketball Camp where I learned nothing from John Wooden about dribbling, shooting, or passing. His contribution was a pair of socks and some sage advice.
At the time, I felt burned. But I’ve since noticed something: I never get blisters. In fact, to this day, I still play racquetball wearing two pairs of socks, one of them inside out. His advice has lasted a lifetime. It was a common-sense lesson from a basketball genius.
Coach Wooden would be the first to acknowledge that it’s impossible to turn a bunch of teenage boys into basketball stars in five days. But if you give those players the fundamentals, then you’re providing them the physical foundation to get to the next level.
I’ve since sought out more of Coach Wooden’s everyday teachings. Be true to yourself. Make every day a masterpiece. Help others. Drink deeply from good books, especially the Bible. Make friendship a fine art. Build a shelter against rainy days. Pray for guidance and give thanks for blessings.
We could all benefit from a little more Coach Wooden in our lives. His lessons have resonated with me for decades. I’ve come to believe that basketball camp was worth every penny of the $500. And it was never about the socks.
Trace Gallagher is the anchor of “Fox News @ Night” and the author of “Turns Out They Were Right All Along.”
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