Inspirational Basketball Coach Letters is kicking off our Monday! The blog topic is perfect timing with the Final NCAA Championship game tonight. We are looking today at inspirational letters by Coach Jerry Wainwright from an article in the Wall Street Journal six months ago.
Inspirational Basketball Coach Letters
The WSJ article entitled “Inspiring Messages From a Coach – Why longtime coach Jerry Wainwright sends hundreds of notes every week to former players, colleagues” is one of the most inspiring articles I have read in a very long time!
The article begins with –
“Good coaches inspire their players, but Jerry Wainwright takes it a step further. Mr. Wainwright, a longtime Division I college basketball coach, sends about 300 to 500 handwritten notes each week to former players, as well as many coaches and managers. He’s been doing it for 30 years.”
“It would be easier and cheaper to email or text. But Mr. Wainwright, 68 and now associate head coach at California State University, Fresno, says he prefers to hand-write his notes, which often accompany a carefully chosen quotation. Writing takes time, which is the point. “I love getting a personal letter because I know what went into sending it,” he says. “It’s such a great compliment.” …”
It shares how he does not use the Internet but is constantly reading many books and sharing quotes and insights from them in his notes. It is wonderful to read about how he will personalize his letter with the recipient in mind. The time management discipline he has in place finds me taking notes and being truly inspired!
“Mr. Wainwright wakes early, sometimes at 3:30 a.m., and spends about 1.5 hours a day writing to keep up his correspondence, which has mounted over the years. When his team is on the road, he brings along stationery, envelopes, stamps and addresses.”
“If he knows someone recently lost a family member or is going through a divorce or illness, he looks for an appropriate passage in his big three-ring binders, which are divided into subjects including “leadership” and “loss.” He dashes off notes to some people daily. Others might receive big envelopes every few weeks with a dozen or more articles and notes he has been putting aside for them. Occasionally, people write back. More often, they call or text.”
Thank you for joining me today for Inspirational Basketball Coach Letters. Here’s to a great week ahead and making the time to dash “off notes to some people daily”.
Anchors Aweigh,
Helen
Attribution & Thank you to the following who are referenced today —
WSJ article “Inspiring Messages From a Coach” Why longtime coach Jerry Wainwright sends hundreds of notes every week to former players, colleagues” by Clare Ansberry, Bureau Chief, The Wall Street Journal October 14, 2015
