Review: Coach Wooden's Forgotten Teams: Stories and Lessons from John Wooden's Summer Basketball Camps

Coach Wooden's Forgotten Teams: Stories and Lessons from John Wooden's Summer Basketball Camps by Pat Williams
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I grew up tall but clumsy, a poor basketball player who once attended a basketball camp when I was in junior high. I remember getting the "most improved" award, a basketball. I still remember some of the things that our high school coach pointed out about my play (while, I suspect, stifling his own laughter). Despite never playing organized basketball, I can see how a camp can make an impact. This book is about how the summer camps run by arguably the best college basketball coach in history worked. The author shares some of the lessons Coach Wooden shared throughout his many camps. These started with how to wear socks and shoes (a focus on the basics) which he started every camp teaching. Then he went on to teach his life philosophy, mixed in with basketball fundamentals and play. The author gives these two aspect an even share of the story here, perhaps leaning more on the philosophy side. He realized that most of his camp attendees would not play ball professionally, so used the camps as a way to influence the kids to live a kind and giving life. I loved the stories behind the scenes of the camp, including the stories of camp counsellors assigned to drive Wooden around. That was real pressure for these young drivers. Good for uplifting stories, and stories of the running of summer sports camps, but not as much basketball action as you might think.

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