Jamy Bechler

Providing Insights on Leadership and Success. Coach Bechler is a John Maxwell Leadership Team Member.

Coach Wooden and Me

“Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.” (John Wooden)

🔊 Click here to listen to a 1-minute audio version of this story.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is the NBA’s all-time scoring leader and a few years ago he wrote a book entitled “Coach Wooden and Me: Our 50-year friendship on and off the court”.

John Wooden was the legendary basketball coach at UCLA when Kareem (then known as Lew Alcindor) played there.

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The Greatest Champion

photo credit: Nonstop Sports (YouTube)

“Bill Russell was the greatest champion in all of team sports.” (Adam Silver, NBA Commissioner)

When the great baseball Hall of Famer and African American icon Jackie Robinson died in 1972, his widow called Boston Celtics player Bill Russell and asked him to be a pallbearer at her husband’s funeral.

Click here to listen to the 6-minute version of this article on the “Success is a Choice” podcast network.

When asked why, she responded that Russell had been Jackie Robinson’s favorite athlete.

All of the pallbearers were Jackie’s former teammates with the Brooklyn Dodgers, except for Bill Russell.

It’s likely that Bill Russell was Jackie Robinson’s favorite athlete – not because he was so athletic or talented – but because he was a champion, both on and off the playing court.

Many consider Bill Russell one of the greatest teammates of all time.

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Episode 175: Sports Stories with Denny Lennon

Denny Lennon is the host of Sports Stories with Denny Lennon, a video and audio podcast that focuses on uplifting stories told through long form interviews with a wide range of sports figures. He was born and raised in Venice, California as part of a family known for music but also highly passionate about sports. His true love for sports started in his own backyard. It was games in that yard that led to 40 years of jobs in coaching, announcing, promoting, and administrating sports at different levels throughout Los Angeles and the country. Coaching children, especially his own, cemented in his mind what a great gift sports can be. Joining the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) in 1994 to develop programs has provided him an opportunity to meet many interesting people in the world of sports including NBA Legend Jerry West

Click here for Denny’s complete bio

In today’s episode, we discuss:
  • The greatest L.A. Laker ever
  • What made John Wooden such a good leader
  • Pioneering beach volleyball tournaments and TV coverage
  • … and much more!!!

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Episode 128: Swen Nater, Only player to lead ABA & NBA in Rebounding

Swen Nater won two NCAA Championships as a basketball player for the legendary John Wooden at UCLA. He would become the first player to ever be a NBA first round draft choice despite never starting a college game. During the 1973-74 season, Swen would earn ABA Rookie of the Year status. He would go on to play professional basketball for 12 years for the Lakers, Clippers, Bucks, Spurs, and Nets. He is the only player in basketball history to lead the ABA and the NBA in rebounding. At the 2004 NBA All-Star game, he was officially named “Mr. Clipper”. After retiring as a player, he would go on to help start the Christian Heritage athletic department and lead the men’s basketball team to a National Championship. Today, he is a highly sought-after motivational speaker and executive of a Fortune 500 company. 

In today’s episode, we discuss:
  • His unbelievable story of going from an orphanage to finding his parents on an American TV show.
  • Playing for the legendary coach John Wooden
  • What made him such a great rebounder
  • The journey of not playing basketball in high school to being a bench player in college to being selected as a first-round draft pick in the NBA
  • … and so much more!!!

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18 for ’18: 18 Books To Read In 2018

“It’s what you read when you don’t have to that will determine who you are when you can’t help it.” (Oscar Wilde)
“Today a reader, tomorrow a leader.” (Margaret Fuller)

It’s often said that all great leaders are readers. John C. Maxwell talks about leadership being about influence, nothing more and nothing less. If this is the case, then in order to be more influential it makes sense that you would want to gain knowledge and a greater understanding of the world that you know and that you don’t know.

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