Chapters 6 & 7 Summary and Analysis

Chapter six begins with this quote: "The true athlete should have character, not be a character." Wooden talks about his respect for Coach Lambert and all he learns from him at Purdue.

Coach Lambert teaches controlled offense with freelance aspects. He builds a platform from which the offense will start. He encourages movement by design without precise repeated patterns. This allows him to coach based on the abilities of each individual team member. Coach Lambert tells his team not to worry about the opponent — just to play their own game and force the opponent to follow it.

Wooden talks of superstitions that many players and coaches develop. Wooden's was actually a practical solution, but when a sports reporter noticed it, he wrote that it was a "good luck piece." Wooden's lucky charm was his locker key tied into the laces...