English 中文网 漫画网 爱新闻iNews 翻译论坛
中国网站品牌栏目(频道)
当前位置: Language Tips> Audio & Video> 新闻播报> Special Speed News VOA慢速

How the great coach John Wooden defined success

[ 2010-06-11 11:31]     字号 [] [] []  
免费订阅30天China Daily双语新闻手机报:移动用户编辑短信CD至106580009009

How the great coach John Wooden defined success

This is the VOA Special English Education Report.

John Wooden died last Friday at the age of 99. He was one of the greatest 20th-century Americans in sports. He was an excellent college basketball player. He led Purdue University to a national championship in 1932. After college he was a high school coach. He also taught English for nine years.

But where he really made his mark was at the University of California, Los Angeles. He was head coach of men's basketball for 27 years.

His teams won a record ten national championships. These included seven in a row during the late 1960s and early 70s. The Bruins have won just one other championship since then.

An announcer described him in 1975 after his final championship victory, which was also his final game.

ANNOUNCER: "As Wooden enters the playing court, he receives a standing ovation from an overflow crowd and true to the Wooden tradition, on the outside everything appears calm."

He coached famous players like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, known then as Lew Alcindor, and Bill Walton.

Several years ago, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar spoke at a ceremony honoring John Wooden. He said many top athletes worry they will be exploited for their skills by their coach.

KAREEM ABDUL-JABBAR: "That never, ever had a possibility of happening in my experience at UCLA because of this man here. He really wanted myself and all of us who participated in the program to get our degrees and learn what it meant to be a good citizen, and to be good parents and husbands and responsible human beings. And that was the most important thing for him."

John Wooden was praised for how he taught the basics of the game, like passing, defense and moving without the ball. But he also offered life lessons as a speaker and author. His books included the self-improvement guide "Pyramid of Success."

At a speaking event when he was already in his 90s, he explained that his father had taught him a few things about success.

JOHN WOODEN: "I was raised on a small farm in southern Indiana and Dad tried to teach me and my brothers that you should never try to be better than someone else. Always learn from others and never cease trying to be the best you could be. That's under your control."

Those words later helped him with his own definition of success.

JOHN WOODEN: "Peace of mind attained only through self-satisfaction and knowing you made the effort to do the best of which you are capable. I believe that is true. If you make the effort to do the best of what you are capable, trying to improve the situation that exists for you, I think that is success and I do not think others can judge that."

His wife of 53 years, Nell, died in 1985.

At UCLA the man known simply as "Coach" had a record of 620 wins and 147 losses. Current coach Ben Howland calls John Wooden "the greatest coach in the history of basketball."

And that's the VOA Special English Education Report, with reporting by Nico Colombant and Jim Stevenson. You can read and listen to our reports at voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Jim Tedder.

Related stories:

Building soccer in America: three stories of struggle and success

Arthur Ashe, 1943-1993: tennis champion and civil rights activist

How did he do it? Lakers coach Phil Jackson and his 10 NBA titles

The first black player in modern major league baseball

(来源:VOA 编辑:陈丹妮)

 
中国日报网英语点津版权说明:凡注明来源为“中国日报网英语点津:XXX(署名)”的原创作品,除与中国日报网签署英语点津内容授权协议的网站外,其他任何网站或单位未经允许不得非法盗链、转载和使用,违者必究。如需使用,请与010-84883631联系;凡本网注明“来源:XXX(非英语点津)”的作品,均转载自其它媒体,目的在于传播更多信息,其他媒体如需转载,请与稿件来源方联系,如产生任何问题与本网无关;本网所发布的歌曲、电影片段,版权归原作者所有,仅供学习与研究,如果侵权,请提供版权证明,以便尽快删除。
 

关注和订阅

人气排行

翻译服务

中国日报网翻译工作室

我们提供:媒体、文化、财经法律等专业领域的中英互译服务
电话:010-84883468
邮件:translate@chinadaily.com.cn