John Wooden Rhoad Research Paper

Jence Rhoads: Jence was a standout basketball player at Vanderbilt University and then later professionally in Romania. I had Jence Rhoads for my instructor for Coaching the Mental Side class and this class laid the foundation for my thirst for sport psychology. Previously, I had read her basketball profile on Vanderbilt’s website. No doubt, Jence’s family background is sports. Her dad played basketball for Wake Forest and then played professionally overseas. Her mother played basketball at Slippery Rock University and also was on the 1984 Olympic Handball Team with Reita Clanton. It’s a small world. I wonder what it was like around the dinner table at the Rhoad’s house? I would think constant talk about basketball and handball to include the mental side. I see this trend often in families and it seems to validate in my mind that genetics
Concealed behind each of these profiles is teamwork. There is no way to make it to the top in any sport without it. If a professional player is only performing within the confines of their responsibilities and nothing else, then they are not playing to their max capability, in my opinion. Just because someone is good in sports doesn’t mean that they have it all together in their interpersonal relationships either. And, relationship changes everything. John Wooden said “those who work alone will never become all they could become if they were working in cooperation with others”. Wooden said loyalty was the force that forges individuals into a team and that it was what gets us through hard times. Regarding team spirit, the coach emphasized that eagerness communicates an attitude of “I’ll be happy to sacrifice personal accomplishments for the good of the team”. “We don’t have to be superstars to reach competitive greatness. All we have to do is learn to rise to every occasion, give our best effort and make those around us better as we do