League Of Extraordinary Loser Analysis

“Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do”, as the great John Wooden would say. In the vignette Coach Wooden and Me by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the author talks about how his basketball coach became his best friend and influenced his life in many distinctive ways. This tale tells the story of how two vastly different, yet successful individuals in John Wooden and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar altered each other’s lives for the better. I think the author wrote this book to share the wisdom of Coach Wooden in hopes of changing young lives similarly to how his life was changed by informing Coach Wooden’s ideas, for instance his Pyramid of Success and his many inspirational quotes, one being:”Be more concerned about you character than your reputation, as your character is who you truly are and your

Being a small framed boy, it was no walk in the park to be in such a physical sport, not to mention, he was on a league of older and much larger seventh and eighth graders. Even though he was much younger and built extremely smaller than the others on the league, Lou finally talked his uncle into letting him in on a play. The lesson he learned from this play would stick with Lou for the rest of his life. As the play unfolded, Lou stood motionless and petrified as he saw one of the large boys on the opposing team charging after him, and all he could think of was getting out of his way before he got tackled. The disappointment that he felt from his uncle as well as his team became a turning point in his life and one of the first great lessons that he learned. Young Lou had a job to do in this play during the game, and by cowering away, he turned his back on his responsibilities not only to his uncle and his team, but to himself. He vowed from then on to never make that mistake again. If he was in place to do a job, he was going to give it all he had. His theory was that even if he failed at trying, it was better to do his best than to give up on his obligations. This was one of his greatest lessons learned in teamwork.

Divided into parts on “Opportunity” and “Legacy” the writings of Gladwell focus on shattering the myth that “success is exclusively a matter of merit” (67). As Gladwell exhibits, through the example of Hockey, the common belief is that “Success…is based on individual merit” (17). However, after a thoughtful analysis of precursory, and undeserved opportunities, such as, birth month, time spent practicing due to being selected because of age grouping, and “accumulative advantage[s],” all of the opportunities were critical to the success of the all-star hockey player; not just talent (30). Moreover, due to the arbitrary access to more practice, an individual (like the hockey player example) is allowed more of a chance to develop their skills.

“To be the best, you’ve got to beat the best, that’s all their is to it” - Adam Vinateri (American Football Player). That quote sticks out for one reason; to me it indicates that in order to develop into the “best” or among the best, you must compete against the best. Actually my interpretation might not be that far off; according to Sports Illustrated, “What seems obvious, though, is that only a small fraction of the one-and-done players in this sample completely flamed out in the NBA,” “Only a handful turned into stars – and even a smaller number into true superstars – but on average, a majority of them managed to play significant roles in the league for at least a few years.” “So I ask, if these players are missing out on such important “development” by skipping the full college basketball experience, why are they producing at a higher level than their peers?”(Moore, SI) So players not only benefit from don’t actually “flame out” and out of a job after electing to either skip college or go 1 full year. It doesn’t stop there; Kevin Pelton at ESPN, crunched numbers between players who went to college one year (One and Done) and players who attended more than one; logged their first 500 minutes and the NBA. The numbers taken by an average concluded that the One and

This can be seen all through the practices, competition trials, and Olympic races in which George Pocock’s words ring true every time. It is during the final Olympic race in which the boys realized, “that they needed to do what was impossible, to go even higher. Somewhere, deep down inside, each of the grades at shreds of will and strength they did not know they possessed,” (Brown, 350). Giving the reader a look at how these men have to put aside everything and focus on pushing themselves through the hardest race of their lives, shows the hopes and dreams that they all share to gain what others thought might be

INTRODUCTION: “I have failed over and over again in my life and that is why I succeeded” a quote by Michael Jordan. How many of you believe failure is a prerequisite to success? , how many of you believe that the difficulties and obstacles you’ve faced changed who you are as a person? well, life is not a wish granting factory , it will feel long and tough , eventually at one point you will fail , we all do , but it’s not about failing it’s about how you perceive failure , that is what defines you as a person , Samuel Becket once

Resiliency is the Key to Success: The Role of Resiliency in The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian Resiliency is like whack-a-mole. If a mole gets hit down, it will always come back up. In Sherman Alexie’s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, Junior shows resiliency throughout the story. In fact, the novel proves that only the most resilient will rise above the rest because Junior earns the respect of Reardan students, Junior accomplishes a lot in basketball, despite the obstacles, and Junior stays resilient when many unfortunate events occur. Junior earns the respect of Reardan students when he attends Reardan High School.

The hardest part of having a passion is sticking to it even during hardships. Julia Silverman has been gifted at basketball since she was six years old, but it was not always easy. Since she plays on two teams, she is always busy with practice. Hardworking and dedicated, she practices ten hours a week at Pine Crest and three hours a week at Boca Hoops. Michael Jordan, a famous athlete inspired her to play basketball because of his talent. Acquiring very advanced skills for her age, Silverman is put onto higher levels at Boca hoops. She also made the A team at Pine Crest every year in middle school. This girl definitely knows what pressure feels like and can handle herself on the court. Two years ago, Silverman’s team was in the championship

Success is a very sought after aspect in our society. Everyone strives for the nicest car, the largest home, or the most exciting job. However, Malcolm Gladwell’s book, Outliers, discusses how the path to success is not simple and it has a lot of factors that play into it. Being on a sports team throughout school or being a “student-athlete” may be one of them. Student athletes learn concepts like teamwork, hard work, and persistence—all of which are critical parts of the average adult career. The sports that these children and teens participate in fuel their competitive drive that can only help them in the workplace.

With success come some of the greatest stories of how people got to that spot. If you do try for something almost never will you be rewarded for that particular thing. This plays a role in both of the following books. In Whale Talk TJ must give this team and swimming his all to get what he wants in getting his team a varsity letter. When new requirements set back the team from getting their varsity letter TJ take it upon himself to lead and set an example for the rest of his team. Notably, in the book Summer Ball after Danny finds out about what people actually think about him. He takes accepts it and goes harder in camp. He takes nothing for granted anymore.

Through his years of playing and coaching, John Wooden has become a wise man and has gained high-priced knowledge. Sharing his success with others, is one of Wooden’s main goals. Some people believe that success is always winning; however, this is not true at all. Defeat helps a team to be able to come back even stronger. Losses are not always terrible; they can help you learn from your mistakes in order to be able to execute better the next time. Wooden says “much as I hated to lose...this defeat was beneficial” (Wooden 155). With success, comes defeat. In order to succeed, you may need a few setbacks. Even though you might be fighting your hardest, you still might come up short, and that is acceptable. In this novel, Wooden tries to help the reader understand the different elements that come along with success. He uses his own personal experiences to inspire and impact the lives of coaches and players with his same

“Challenges are what makes life interesting and overcoming them is what makes life meaningful.” Some people have to overcome challenges to have a meaning in life and not just give up. This is exemplified in, “The Contender,” by Derek Burnett, “Life in the Red,” by Benedict Carey, and “ Paralympic Star makes history on NBA stage,” by E Lancaster. After reading and annotating the articles about a determined Kyle Maynard, motivational Blake Leeper, and a resourceful Lakeisha Tuggle one could make the choice be successful in life and give up. But to do these things, you have to have a good attitude and “cut out” things that aren't a necessity.

“Ability may get you to the top, but it takes character to keep you there.“ John Robert Wooden is considered the greatest teacher, coach of all time and believed character was the ideal key to success. Wooden taught his players to work and achieve at their best ability. The Pyramid of Success was invented by Wooden that consisted of fifteen qualities that guided his players and others to achieve what they desired. To be able to reach full potential, Wooden’s players had to follow his coaching. As a result of Wooden building character in his men, they listened and followed the rules which allowed them to focus on their necessity.

Chapter VI describes how I would establish an exceptional youth basketball program. The chapter reviews important components like coaching strategy, skill development, and relationship building that a successful program must incorporate. This exceptional program is built on the coaching philosophy that athlete comes first before

Winning is every coach or player's main goal in any sport or in life. Although winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing. Coaches spend countless hours preparing for a big game and this builds up the fear of a loss. No one wants to lose after you dedicate hours upon hours on the court and in the books scouting and preparing for a game. Therefore, winning becomes the only option for you and your team. Throughout this persuasive essay, dedication, toughness, and ** will explain why “winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing.”