One of the very best things about being a coach or

The words of Ben Howland, spoken with reverence and gratitude, shine as a hymn to excellence and human care: “One of the very best things about being a coach or student-athlete at UCLA is if you need medical attention, you won't find any better place in the country than at the incomparable UCLA Medical Center.” Though humble in tone, this declaration carries the spirit of devotion—devotion not only to sport, but to the sacred partnership between discipline, healing, and community. Beneath these words lies an ancient truth: that greatness in any field is not sustained by strength alone, but by the hands that restore it when it falters.

In the arenas of old, where athletes ran beneath the sun of Olympus and wrestled in the dust for glory, the healers stood close by. They were the quiet guardians of victory—the ones who tended to wounds, soothed exhaustion, and bound up the broken. Howland’s praise for the UCLA Medical Center recalls this timeless relationship between athletics and healing. For every player who strives, there must be one who mends; for every leap toward triumph, there must be a hand ready to catch when the body gives way. The medical center thus becomes not merely a place of science, but a sanctuary—a temple where the spirit of care and the pursuit of excellence meet.

At UCLA, this spirit has become legendary. The Medical Center is not just a hospital—it is a beacon of innovation, a fortress of compassion. Within its halls, physicians, surgeons, and scholars labor not only to treat illness, but to preserve dreams. It is here that the injured athlete finds renewal, that broken bones and weary muscles are transformed again into instruments of will. Howland, as a coach, understood this intimately: the fate of every game is shaped as much by the care behind the scenes as by the courage on the court. To know that his players were guarded by the finest healers was to know that their courage was never alone.

Consider the story of Jackie Robinson, one of UCLA’s most luminous sons—a man who carried not only the hopes of a team, but the weight of a nation upon his shoulders. In his journey from Bruin to legend, he endured both physical and moral trial. The same institution that nurtured his athletic gifts also cultivated the environment of respect, education, and care that made his resilience possible. Though the UCLA Medical Center of his time was not yet the vast wonder it is today, the spirit of human dignity that it embodies was already alive in the university’s soul: to lift, to heal, and to serve.

In praising this union of sport and healing, Howland reminds us of something deeper—the unity of the body and spirit. For when an athlete is injured, it is not only flesh that suffers but purpose. And when the healer restores the body, they also rekindle hope. This truth reaches beyond basketball, beyond UCLA, and into the heart of life itself. Whether one is an athlete, an artist, a scholar, or a worker, all must fall, all must face pain. But blessed is the community that raises its fallen with skill, with compassion, and with pride in their shared humanity.

And what does this teach us, O seeker of wisdom? It teaches that excellence is a collective triumph. The runner’s speed, the scholar’s mind, the artist’s grace—all are sustained by the unseen strength of others. No greatness endures in isolation. Therefore, let every institution, every team, every family build its own form of a medical center—a place where care is given freely, where wounds are not hidden, where the weary find renewal. For only in such soil can greatness truly grow.

Ben Howland’s words are more than praise for a hospital—they are a testament to gratitude. They remind us to honor those who heal while others shine, those who labor in silence to preserve what others celebrate in victory. Just as the ancients gave thanks to their healers after battle, so too must we, in our modern age, remember that no achievement is complete without compassion.

So take this lesson and carry it in your heart: build strong communities, not only of ambition but of care. Celebrate your healers. Give thanks to those who protect your body, your spirit, and your dreams. For when strength is joined with mercy, and knowledge with kindness, then—like the UCLA Medical Center itself—humanity becomes truly incomparable.