The "Wizard of Westwood" won 10 National Championships in a twelve year span. His teams won seven National titles in a row. They won 88 straight games.
Bill Walton tells a story of the first time he showed up for practice for Coach Wooden.
Coach Wooden had all his player sitting on the bench and then started coaching them on how to put on their socks properly and how to tie their shoes. Remember, this is when he had players like Kareem Abdul Jabbar on the team. And to Bill Walton's absolute shock, all the older players were riveted to Coach Wooden showing grown men how to put on a sock and tie their shoes!
Walton couldn't believe it! He thought it was all a joke.
But then he saw Lou Alcindor (Kareem Abdul Jabbar) give him a look like, "pay attention and do it right!"
You see, Coach Wooden absolutely believed that great teams are great because they take care of the absolute basics. When other players are tripping over their shoe laces, when other players are sidelined because of blisters, his players would learn how to put on a sock and tie their shoes properly so that they wouldn't ever have to worry about those things while they were on the court.
We at the Little Church on the Prairie are going through a sermon series called Basic Training.
These things that God is showing us - caring for each other, worshiping, growing in word and prayer, serving, and giving - these things aren't things that super-duper Christians do. These are the absolute basics. This isn't special training for the special forces like the Rangers, or the Green Beret, or the Navy Seals.
Basic Training is exactly that. These are the absolute basics.
These things:
- Made to Care
- Made to Worship
- Made to Grow
- Made to Give
- Made to Make a Difference
These are the absolute basics of who we are as Christians.
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