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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Where did Coach Wooden meet his future wife, Nellie?

2. What signal did Coach Wooden give to Nellie before each game when he was a coach?

3. At his first high-school coaching job, what was Coach Wooden's salary?

4. What did Coach Wooden's high-school coach prohibit his players from doing during basketball season?

5. Which player did Coach Wooden discover was lacking in confidence?

Short Essay Questions

1. What caused Coach Wooden to enlist in the military?

2. Explain what happened between Coach Wooden and one of his South Bend students named Eddie.

3. Why didn't Coach Wooden remain a high-school basketball coach?

4. How did Coach Wooden come to have a "good luck charm"?

5. Explain Coach Wooden's duties and pay when he got his first high-school coaching job in Dayton.

6. In Chapter 1, Coach Wooden removes Walt Hazzard from several games for showing off. Why is showing off a negative thing?

7. What is the meaning of this quote by Coach Wooden, "the true athlete should have character, not be a character"?

8. Why didn't Coach Wooden and Nellie have enough money for the wedding they had planned?

9. What caused Coach Wooden to take his first college teaching position?

10. Describe Coach Wooden and Nellie's relationship throughout their high-school years.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

When people have to make a decision, a good way to think it through is by making a "pros and cons" list. Coach Wooden had an important decision to make between playing professional basketball or staying a coach. He decided to stay a coach because he loves to teach.

Write as if you were Coach Wooden making this decision. Writing about the pros and cons of choosing professional basketball and the pros and cons of staying a coach. As a conclusion write why you think Coach made the right or wrong decision based on the pros and cons lists.

Essay Topic 2

Coach Wooden discussed many people that were good at recruiting for UCLA.

Write about the different people who Coach thought were good at recruiting and why.

Essay Topic 3

In the book, the theme of unity on a team is repeated several times.

Part 1) Write about how Coach Wooden would build unity on his teams. Use specific examples from the book.

Part 2) Write about the benefits of learning unity and what other areas of life the lesson of unity can be applied to.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 845 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample