Star Shooter

Learning From the Master

It had always been Jay's dream to sit down and talk "hoops" with the legendary John Wooden.  When he learned Coach Wooden was speaking at a clinic in South Dakota about 12 hours away, he decided to take his chances to hook up with him.

Once at the site, Jay found that it was impossible to have any 1 on 1 time with Coach Wooden because he was always surrounded by so many coaches. If he was going to make his dream come true he was going to have to make it happen another way.  Jay decided to try something that would give him a few seconds alone with Coach Wooden.  In his own words, Jay describes his plan: 

"I noticed that Coach Wooden was dropped off at the gym about 10 minutes before he was scheduled to speak.  I also noticed that no coaches were around when this would happen. So I waited in my car for his ride to pull up and then rushed across the parking lot, opened his door, and then asked if I could fly out to meet with him in his home.  I think I caught him by surprise but he graciously agreed, gave me his phone number, and told me to call and make the arrangements. The whole thing only  took about 45 seconds."

While visiting with Coach Wooden in his home in California, Jay learned a special tip to help teach proper shooting technique. Jay shares this information with all his students and it has proved to be a key reason why so many athletes improve their accuracy after attending his camps.

• Coach Wooden is in the Basketball Hall of Fame.
• He led UCLA to a record 10 NCAA Championships.