Wednesday, September 24, 2008

How an attitude differs from a list of rules

I'm sure many of you have seen John Wooden's 23-point list of the "Bruin Attitude." If not, the complete list is here. Coach Gajic over at Pro Skills passed it on recently, reminding me of Coach Wooden's knack for communicating in a clear, no-nonsense way.

Here are a few of Coach Wooden's rules that would apply to every team:

-- Huddle up as a team on free throws
-- Run to the bench when substituted for
-- Run to timeouts
-- Run to the locker room
-- Never quit on a play
-- No poor body language
-- Root for your teammates while on bench
-- Attitude of gratitude – say “thank you”
-- Look people in the eye when communicating
-- Be humble in victory, gracious in defeat
-- Keep the locker room clean

What may be most interesting is what Coach Wooden called his list. It's not the "Bruin Rules," but the "Bruin Attitude." It's part of the culture. It's how we do things here.