The John Wooden Center is celebrating its 20th anniversary this
month by hosting a variety of festivities meant to commemorate
Coach John Wooden’s contributions to UCLA and to help
students live healthy and active lifestyles.
The events began on May 1 and will culminate on May 16 with John
Wooden Center Appreciation Day, when legendary UCLA men’s
basketball coach Wooden will speak. The array of festivities
planned for the rest of the month range from ballroom dance
workshops to a 3-on-3 basketball tournament.
Utilizing the “pyramid of success,” a strategy used
by Wooden to develop and mold positive team players and citizens, a
small committee of UCLA Recreation administrators have organized
the celebration. Each day’s theme corresponds to a quality
taken from the pyramid of success.
Tuesday’s theme was “Poise,” and activities
included Golf Experience and International No Dieting Day. At
tables set up all over campus, UCLA students challenged their
classmates to stop dieting and focus more on eating healthy and
exercising.
Janice Canaria, a fourth-year molecular, cell and developmental
biology student, worked at a table for International No Dieting Day
and urged students that “it’s important to have a
positive body image of yourself, and healthy eating should be a
lifestyle, not a two-, three-week commitment.”
During the Student/Staff Challenge on Wednesday, the halls of
the center witnessed an exciting limbo contest, which worked to
promote Wooden’s “Enthusiasm” on the pyramid of
success.
During the upcoming days of celebration students will get the
chance to partake in workshops and classes that usually fill up
early in the quarter. The festivities are also an opportunity for
students to experiment with different avenues for staying fit.
The concluding celebration on May 16 will host a variety of
activities such as fencing and table tennis. The highlight of the
day is a formal ceremony during which Wooden will address the UCLA
community at 2:30 p.m. in Collins Court.
Dennis Koehne, operations manager of the center, admires the
spirit and knowledge that Wooden brought to UCLA and said the
celebration “gives us a chance to thank Coach.”
Wooden’s legacy is unparalleled. Holding the winningest
record in all of sports history, he led the Bruins to 10 NCAA
championships, seven of which were consecutive.
More important than his achievements on the court, Wooden is
recognized for “the life skills that he presented to all his
athletes,” said Daniel Wax, manager of the center.
Since its inception on May 2, 1983, the center has provided a
convenient, inexpensive and high-quality place for students to stay
fit and healthy, Koehne said.
Megan Taylor-Ford, a third-year communication studies student,
uses the Wooden Center four times a week, saying “it’s
a good place to workout, and it’s free.”
Perhaps the greatest benefit of the center is the diversity that
it provides.
Koehne pointed out that students, faculty and the public have
the opportunity to train and exercise in facilities that offer
traditional basketball courts and weight training rooms, as well as
to experience the not so traditional instructional workshops on
African drumming.
At the time of its construction, the Wooden Center was the first
of its kind, he said. With its wide-open hallways and glass
windows, the recreation center was groundbreaking in its
architecture, the facilities it offered, and the fact that it was
sponsored and mostly funded by the student body, Koehne added.
“When my friends came to visit UCLA it was the first thing
I showed them. I tell my family about it, and they get
jealous,” said Mikael Perreau, a second-year political
science and French student.
An average of about 1 million people use the center’s
facilities each year, and improvements to the weight room, cardio
equipment and fitness space are being made.