Back in 1975 Los Angeles Lakers head basketball coach Phil Jackson was 29, and the author of his first book, Maverick. Obviously Jackson was pondering life much more than the typical athlete, as he tried to find what is right for himself, the league and the world around him.

The fact that Jackson felt compelled to write a book at 29 is an indication that he was unusual and an indication of greater accomplishments. The following excerpts show his early thinking/ideas that would eventually lead to his presence Hall-of-Fame status as the greatest pro basket coach…

“I don’t think I was a great athlete; it was just that I was always good under stress and could deal with complicated things.

“Pro ballplayers come from hometowns and college environments where they are regarded as heroes
and total celebrities. They become conditioned to this type of relationship, and it’s really hard for most of them to recognize the validity of another player’s feelings and needs.

“Watching the ball games from the stands (while injured) made me much more critical about what was going on out there. I observed teams instead of individuals, and I developed a finer perception of what a specific ball club could and couldn’t do.

“As far as I’m concerned, the only way to win consistently in the NBA is to have several selfless players who are willing to do things even when the spotlight’s on somebody else.

“Working at something you love is one of the happiest states which an individual can attain. You reach a state where there are no extraneous thoughts in your head and you seem to be carried along with the joy and the intensity of your labor.”

In my next post under “professional athletics” I will share with you my personal observations back in 1961, sitting and listening to Ralph Houk’s opening comments (and his thinking) to the New York Yankees team, when he took over as manager of the Yankees from the legendary Casey Stengel.

This entry was posted on Sunday, March 16th, 2008 at 10:31 am and is filed under Professional Athletics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.