Youth Sports World Can Still Learn a Lot From John Wooden
By Ken Reed
John Wooden was fond of saying “Sport doesn’t build character, it reveals it.”
Building character should be a high priority for youth sports coaches. Unfortunately, too many youth sports coaches operate with a win-at-all-costs (WAAC) mindset. Developing strong character traits in their athletes are a secondary consideration, if they are considered at all.
Wooden was voted the greatest coach of all-time — in any sport — by the Sporting News. He won 10 national championships as the basketball coach at UCLA (twice as many as legendary Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski and more than three times as many as Indiana’s volatile Bobby Knight.
Wooden reached that level of success by focusing on a set of values and principles he called “The Pyramid of Success.” The Pyramid didn’t deal with basketball strategy, it was a set character traits which Wooden believed, if followed, would lead to individual and team success, and provide the foundation for a successful, meaningful and happy life after an athlete’s playing days were over. He saw it as a roadmap to becoming the best person you can be.
One of Wooden’s former players, Andy Hill, a reserve on three UCLA national championship teams, didn’t realize how much Wooden’s teaching positively impacted his life until 25 years after he left the UCLA campus. Upon reflecting on his successful business career, Hill realized his most valuable life lessons came from his basketball coach, John Wooden.
Even though Wooden passed away more than 13 years ago, if you’re a parent or coach of a young athlete, or a young athlete yourself, you can still learn a lot from Wooden about coaching and teaching young people. Before his passing, he collaborated on a lot of books, videos and leadership seminars, all of which are easily available on the internet.
Stephen Borelli recently wrote a nice piece for USA Today entitled, “5 Lessons Young Athletes Can Still Learn From the Legenday John Wooden.” It’s a good read for youth sports coaches, parents and athletes alike.
— Ken Reed, Sports Policy Director, League of Fans

Sports Forum Podcast
Episode #32 – League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast: Prolific Author Joe Posnanski Joins the Show – Posnanski is one of America’s best sportswriters and has twice been named the best sports columnist in America by the Associated Press Sports Editors. We chat about his new book, “Why We Love Baseball,” his new Substack newsletter called Joe Blogs, and we cover topics including how baseball treats its fans, MLB’s numerous rule changes this past season, how the sport can become more fan-friendly, the greatness of Negro Leagues champion Buck O’Neil, and much more.
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Episode #31 – League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast: Foul Ball Safety Is Still an Important Issue at Ballparks – Our guests are Jordan Skopp, founder of FoulBallSafety.com and Greg Wilkowski, a Chicago based attorney. We discuss the historical problem of foul balls injuring fans and why some teams are still hesitant to put up protective netting in some minor league and college baseball parks.
Episode #30 – League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast: The State of College Athletics with Dr. David Ridpath: Problems and Potential Solutions – Ridpath is a sports administration professor at Ohio University and a member of The Drake Group, a college sports reform think tank.
Episode #29 – League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast: The Honorable Tom McMillen Visits League of Fans’ Sports Forum – McMillen is a former All-American basketball player, Olympian, Rhodes Scholar and U.S. Congressman. We discuss the state of college athletics today.
Episode #28 – League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast: A Chat With Mano Watsa, a Leading Basketball and Life Educator – Watsa is President of PGC Basketball, the largest education basketball camp in the world. We discuss problems in youth sports today.
Episode #27 – League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast: Kids’ Sports: How We Can Take Back the Game and Restore Quality Family Time In the Process – Linda Flanagan is author of “Take Back the Game: How Money and Mania Are Ruining Kids’ Sports and Why It Matters.” We discuss how commercialized and professionalized youth sports are hurting kids and their families.
Media
"How We Can Save Sports" author Ken Reed appears on Fox & Friends to explain how there's "too much adult in youth sports."
Ken Reed appears on Mornings with Gail from KFKA Radio in Colorado to discuss bad parenting in youth athletics.
“Should College Athletes Be Paid?” Ken Reed on The Morning Show from Wisconsin Public Radio
Ken Reed appears on KGNU Community Radio in Colorado (at 02:30) to discuss equality in sports and Title IX.
Ken Reed appears on the Ralph Nader Radio Hour (at 38:35) to discuss his book The Sports Reformers: Working to Make the World of Sports a Better Place, and to talk about some current sports issues.
- Reed Appears on Ralph Nader Radio Hour League of Fans’ sports policy director, Ken Reed, Ralph Nader and the New York Times’ Tyler Kepner discussed a variety of sports issues on Nader’s radio show as well as Reed’s updated book, How We Can Save Sports: A Game Plan. Reed's book was released in paperback in February, and has a new introduction and several updated sections.
League of Fans is a sports reform project founded by Ralph Nader to fight for the higher principles of justice, fair play, equal opportunity and civil rights in sports; and to encourage safety and civic responsibility in sports industry and culture.
Vanderbilt Sport & Society - On The Ball with Andrew Maraniss with guest Ken Reed, Sports Policy Director for League of Fans and author of How We Can Save Sports: A Game Plan
Sports & Torts – Ken Reed, Sports Policy Director, League of Fans – at the American Museum of Tort Law
Books