Expressing the sense of the House that John Wooden should be honored for his contributions to sports and education.

Mr. Speaker, it is a privilege to honor today a distinguished constituent of Los Angeles, the ``Wizard of Westwood'' himself, Coach John Wooden. His incredible achievements on the basketball court have shattered the record books and set the bar to which all college basketball teams and coaches are compared today.

Coach Wooden is without question the most successful college basketball coach in history. In his first year coaching at UCLA in 1948, Coach Wooden took a team that was picked to finish last in its conference and took them, through sheer perspiration and hustle, along to first place in their division, setting a school record for wins in a single season. The next season, Coach Wooden led the Bruins to their first ever NCAA tournament appearance.

Under his masterful guidance over his twenty-seven year coaching career at UCLA, the Bruins set all-time college records with four perfect seasons, 88 consecutive victories, 38 straight NCAA tournament victories, 20 PAC-10 conference championships, and ten national championships, including seven in a row. Coach Wooden and his Bruins teams were synonymous with being #1, and it is likely that these records will never be surpassed. Coach Wooden was deservedly recognized as Coach of the Year six times, and is enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame as both a player and coach.

Yet, it is his successes off the court as a mentor and gentle teacher which make Coach Wooden's legacy far greater than statistics could ever measure. While at UCLA, Coach Wooden developed his ``Pyramid of Success'' principles which formed his philosophy of winning basketball and outlook on success in life. Embodied in maxims such as ``be quick, but don't hurry'' and ``it is not important who starts the game but who finishes it,'' Coach Wooden instilled in his players the qualities of leadership, teamwork, hard work, and attention to detail, hallmarks of his great teams, which the players applied to their personal lives as well.

``Things turn out best for those who make the best of the way things turn out,'' Coach Wooden likes to say. It was Coach Wooden's guidance that enabled these students to become humble, accomplished persons as well as athletes, long after their basketball careers ended.

With his loving and devoted wife Nell by his side, John Wooden's incredible impact on his players, on the UCLA community, and the sports world in general will always be remembered. A man of the highest integrity, Coach Wooden demanded only the best from a person and from his talents.

I am also submitting for the Record a piece about Coach Wooden by Rick Reilly that appeared in Sports Illustrated in March 2000. It is further testament to this great man's character and contribution to sport.

It is a distinct honor to pay tribute to this legendary teacher and coach today, a role model for all of us, both athletes and fans alike, to follow.

A Paragon Rising Above the Madness

(By Rick Reilly)

On Tuesday the best man I know will do what he always does

on the 21st of the month. He'll sit down and pen a love

letter to his best girl. He'll say how much he misses her and

loves her and can't wait to see her again. Then he'll fold it

once, slide it in a little envelope and walk into his

bedroom. He'll go to the stack of love letters sitting there

on her pillow, untie the yellow ribbon, place the new one on

top and tie the ribbon again.

The stack will be 180 letters high then, because Tuesday is

15 years to the day since Nellie, his beloved wife of 53

years, died. In her memory, he sleeps only on his half of the

bed, only on his pillow, only on top of the sheets, never

between, with just the old bedspread they shared to keep him

warm.

There's never been a finer man in American sports than John

Wooden, or a finer coach. He won 10 NCAA basketball

championships at UCLA, the last in 1975. Nobody has ever come

within six of him. He won 88 straight games between Jan. 30,

1971, and Jan. 17, 1974. Nobody has come within 42 since.

So, sometimes, when the Madness of March gets to be too

much--too many players trying to make SportsCenter, too few

players trying to make assists, too many coaches trying to be

homeys, too few coaches willing to be mentors, too many

freshmen with out-of-wedlock kids, too few freshmen who will

stay in school long enough to become men--I like to go see

Coach Wooden. I visit him in his little condo in Encino, 20

minutes northwest of L.A., and hear him say things like

``Gracious sakes alive!'' and tell stories about teaching

``Lewis'' the hook shot. Lewis Alcindor, that is, Kareem

Abdul-Jabbar.

There has never been another coach like Wooden, quiet as an

April snow and square as a game of checkers; loyal to one

woman, one school, one way; walking around campus in his

sensible shoes and Jimmy Stewart morals. He'd spend a half

hour the first day of practice teaching his men how to put on

a sock. ``Wrinkles can lead to blisters,'' he'd warn. These

huge players would sneak looks at one another and roll their

eyes. Eventually, they'd do it right. ``Good,'' he'd say.

``And now for the other foot.''

Of the 180 players who played for him, Wooden knows the

whereabouts of 172. Of course, it's not hard when most of

them call, checking on his health, secretly hoping to hear

some of his simple life lessons so that they can write them

on the lunch bags of their kids, who will roll their eyes.

``Discipline yourself, and others won't need to,'' Coach

would say. ``Never lie, never cheat, never steal,'' Coach

would say. ``Earn the right to be proud and confident.''

You played for him, you played by his rules: Never score

without acknowledging a teammate. One word of profanity, and

you're done for the day. Treat your opponent with respect.

He believed in hopelessly out-of-date stuff that never did

anything but win championships. No dribbling behind the back

or through the legs. ``There's no need,'' he'd say. No UCLA

basketball number was retired under his watch. ``What about

the fellows who wore that number before? Didn't they

contribute to the team?'' he'd say. No long hair, no facial

hair. ``They take too long to dry, and you could catch cold

leaving the gym,'' he'd say.

That one drove his players bonkers. One day, All-America

center Bill Walton showed up with a full beard. ``It's my

right,'' he insisted. Wooden asked if he believed that

strongly. Walton said he did. ``That's good, Bill,'' Coach

said. ``I admire people who have strong beliefs and stick by

them, I really do. We're going to miss you.'' Walton shaved

it right then and there. Now Walton calls once a week to tell

Coach he loves him.

It's always too soon when you have to leave the condo and

go back out into the real world, where the rules are so much

grayer and the teams so much worse. As Wooden shows you to

the door, you take one last look around. The framed report

cards of the great-grandkids. The boxes of jelly beans

peeking out from under the favorite wooden chair. The dozens

of pictures of Nellie.

He's almost 90 now, you think. A little more hunched over

than last time. Steps a little smaller. You hope it's not the

last time you see him. He smiles. ``I'm not afraid to die,''

he says. ``Death is my only chance to be with her again.''

Problem is, we still need him here.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from California (Mr. Lewis) for introducing this resolution. John Wooden's coaching accomplishments have already been mentioned, and I do not need to go over those a whole lot; but I would just like to have people think for a minute how difficult it would be when there are over 200 Division I teams to be the top team, the one that came out on top in the national tournament 10 times, seven times in a row. Mathematically, that is almost impossible. So his win-loss record was amazing, 88 wins in a row. When you think of the home court advantage in basketball, to have won half of those away from home is remarkable.

But that is really not why I wanted to speak about John. As far as I am concerned, John Wooden is the greatest coach that I have known in any sport, in any era. And the reason I say this is not based on his wins and losses, but rather it is based on his philosophy of coaching, the way he did it and the fact that he was a consummate teacher.

His attention to detail was amazing. And it ranged from showing his players how to put their socks on. Now, that seems like a strange thing to do, but every year he would show them personally how to put on two pairs of socks so

they would not get blisters and would not get wrinkles. That is where it started, and then it went on to how to dribble, how to pass, how to shoot, how to bend your knees on a free-throw. So tremendous attention to detail. And then, of course, he went on to his pyramid for success, which was essentially the building blocks for success, which so many corporations and businesses have incorporated at the present time.

So, essentially, it was the base: the loyalty, perseverance, teamwork, integrity, and on up the line to what led to success. But one principle that influenced me more than any other issue in coaching was simply this: he said that he never talked about winning to his players. Now, that is amazing, a coach who had coached that long never mentioned the word winning, never talked about it. He quoted Cerventes, and Cerventes said this: ``The journey is more important than the end.'' And what he meant here was that the process, the thing that you do every day, is the important thing. Not the end result.

So how to dribble, shoot, pass. In coaching football, to block and tackle, maximum effort, unselfishness, teamwork, discipline. And doing it every day at every moment was the key to what he was all about. So his commitment to fundamentals and daily discipline and team chemistry and his caring for his players led to the wins, but that was not the important thing to him.

I guess now that I am out of coaching, I understand even better what he was talking about. Because it really is not the rings, it is not the trophies, it is not the championships that you remember. The thing that you really remember is the relationships, the personal growth of your players, their character development, their shared struggles, and sometimes the spiritual growth you see in those players.

Just a couple of weeks ago I pulled out one of John Wooden's tapes that he had made at age 92, and it was amazing the clarity and the attention to detail that he had at age 92. Certainly every bit as sharp as he was when he was 40 or 45. So this man has had a tremendous impact on a whole generation of coaches and players that has gone beyond what anybody else has ever done.

So I am pleased to just have a chance to say a word or two about him and certainly support the resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 411) expressing the sense of the House that John Wooden should be honored for his contributions to sports and education, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on H. Res. 411.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H. Res. 411 which honors the contributions to sports and education by UCLA basketball coach John Wooden. I want to thank my good friend, neighbor and Bruin, the gentleman from California (Mr. Lewis), for introducing this resolution to recognize a man who is nothing short of a legend in our part of the State.

Coach Wooden concluded his 40 years as a head coach in 1974-75 and his 885-203 overall career win-loss record is unequaled. In 27 years as coach of the UCLA Bruins, his teams registered 620 wins and only 147 losses while earning far more national honors than any other university. Under Wooden, UCLA won an unprecedented 10 NCAA championships, including seven consecutive championships from 1966 to 1973.

Included in this string is one of the most amazing win streaks in all of sports, 38 straight NCAA tournament victories. That feat is truly unbelievable.

Additionally, John Wooden is the only coach to compile four undefeated seasons of 30-0 and his Bruins teams captured 19 conference championships. His talent on the court earned him induction into the National Basketball Hall of Fame as both a player and a coach. Coach wooden is only one of two people to receive this dual honor.

Early in his career, John Wooden committed himself to sports and academics. As an English major, his name is inscribed on Purdue's academic honor roll, and he was awarded the Big Ten Conference medal for scholarship and athletics in 1932. His commitment to scholarship and sportsmanship have inspired and nurtured countless student athletes, and we owe him our thanks and admiration.

I want to, once again, thank my colleague from California for introducing this resolution and extend my congratulations to Coach John Wooden for his achievements and contributions to collegiate athletics. I ask all of my colleagues to support this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from California (Mr. Lewis), the author of this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Osborne), another former coach, another great coach, now a Member of Congress and who serves on our Committee on Education and the Workforce.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Souder), a former member of the committee, a Hoosier, who wants to claim Mr. Wooden for his own.

(Mr. SOUDER asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, I just comment that we are certainly glad Coach Wooden came to California.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I very much appreciate the gentleman from California (Mr. McKeon), my colleague, for yielding me this time. And it is a very proud moment for me to rise on behalf of literally thousands of UCLA alumni who are proud, and in just a small way, a small way, not just to be associated with this great university but to be associated with the name of John Wooden who has been our great basketball coach all of the time I have looked at UCLA, but will remain our preeminent basketball coach for all time.

I must say it is very appropriate that we do this today, in view of the fact that on December 20, the basketball floor at Pauley Pavilion will be dedicated the Nell and John Wooden Court. The Edwin W. Pauley Pavilion sits right across the way from the John Wooden Center on the UCLA campus. The Pauley's donors are listed across the bottom of a plaque outside the building. Fifth from those on the bottom, of those supporters, is John Wooden himself.

This incredible individual, whose background and success pattern has been discussed by both of my colleagues already, has demonstrated for all time to all of us who are fans of UCLA that here is an example that we would all hope to begin to be able to follow. For those who do not know just how strongly I feel about UCLA, I would certainly want John Wooden to know this, my dog happens to be named Bruin.

Having said that, over the years it has been my privilege to talk to any number of our alumni who have participated or worked with or been around John Wooden. He, indeed, has been an inspiration to literally thousands, as I have suggested. His dedication to our college, to the sport, is a reflection of the fact that his whole lifetime has been one of production for excellence. He and his wife symbolize the most fantastic of that which should be family life.

Over the years, John Wooden demonstrated his early capability as a leader, becoming an All-American basketball player. As a basketball coach at UCLA, no one, but no one will ever attain his record again. He is an inspiration to all of us, as I have suggested.

I might mention that in the 10 championships during his seasons at UCLA, UCLA won only 291 of those games and lost 10 during that string. During those years, my own children were youngsters, thinking about going away to college, and I was interested in having them take a look at UCLA. I will never forget my twin sons going with me on the very evening in Pauley Pavilion when they raised that 10th banner symbolizing the 10 seasons of excellence for Coach Wooden's career.

It is a great privilege for me to be a small part of this resolution this evening, and I wish John Wooden Godspeed, and, indeed, the contribution he has made is a symbol for all of us to follow.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H. Res. 411. This resolution honors the contributions which former UCLA coach John Wooden made to college sports and to education.

Coach Wooden is recognized as one of the most successful players and coaches in basketball history. He is one of only two individuals who have been enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame as both a player and coach.

Coach Wooden finished his coaching career with an 885-203 record. He coached the UCLA Bruins to 88 straight victories. He coached the Bruins to championship wins in 10 out of 12 seasons. This record of athletic championship is legendary.

While Coach Wooden has been honored for his accomplishments on the court, he has also been recognized for his leadership and personal qualities. Coach Wooden was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Nation's highest civilian honor. In addition, he inspired his players to achieve success in their own right. He also is an accomplished author.

Coach Wooden has inspired us with his legendary ability to win on the court. But he has also inspired us with his ability to help young people develop into leaders in their own right. For that, this House and this country owe him our thanks.

In closing, Mr. Speaker, I would urge Members to support this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.