Tara VanDerveer, the winningest basketball coach in NCAA historical past, introduced her retirement Tuesday night time after 38 seasons main the Stanford ladies’s workforce and 45 years total.
The 70-year-old VanDerveer surpassed Mike Krzyzewski for the wins file in January. The Corridor of Famer departs with 1,216 victories at Idaho, Ohio State and Stanford.
“Basketball is the best group venture there may be and I’m so extremely grateful for each one that has supported me and our groups all through my teaching profession,” VanDerveer mentioned in a press release. “I have been spoiled to teach the most effective and brightest at one of many world’s foremost establishments for almost 4 a long time.”
Former Stanford participant and retired Arizona State coach Charli Turner Thorne reached out to VanDerveer instantly Tuesday.
“She has achieved all of it so simply actually blissful for her to get pleasure from life after teaching!” Turner Thorne mentioned in a textual content message to The Related Press. “When .”
VanDerveer’s legacy shall be lengthy lasting. She all the time took time to mentor different coaches, swapping sport movie with some or going to the visiting locker room to supply encouraging phrases and perception.
“Tara’s affect is each deep and large. I went to her very first camp at Stanford as a camper,” UCLA coach Cori Shut mentioned in a textual content to the AP.
“I competed towards her and labored her camps as a participant. And I’ve now been competing towards her and studying from her for a few years as a coach. My teaching has been affected on so many ranges by Tara’s instance and direct mentorship at many crossroads. Congrats on a tremendous profession Tara. Our sport, the Pac-12 Convention, and my teaching is healthier due to you. Take pleasure in retirement. You positive have earned it.”
Following a 38-year profession because the winningest coach in NCAA historical past, the inimitable Tara VanDerVeer is retiring. <br><br>Congratulations, Tara! Trying ahead to seeing the place your journey takes you subsequent. <a href=”https://t.co/1T0IKw55HT”>https://t.co/1T0IKw55HT</a>
—@BillieJeanKing
Plans to proceed in advisory position
VanDerveer’s final day is scheduled for Might 8 — the thirty ninth anniversary of her hiring. And she or he plans to proceed working for the college and athletic division in an advisory position.
VanDerveer took a 12 months away from Stanford to information the undefeated U.S. ladies’s Olympic workforce to a gold medal on the 1996 Atlanta Video games.
“Coupled with my time at Ohio State and Idaho, and as head coach of america Nationwide Workforce, it has been an unforgettable journey,” she mentioned.
“The enjoyment for me was within the journey of every season, seeing a gaggle of younger ladies work onerous for one another and kind an unbreakable bond. Profitable was a byproduct. I’ve cherished the sport of basketball since I used to be just a little lady, and it has given me a lot all through my life. I hope I have been in a position to give at the least just a little bit again.”
For a lot of in ladies’s basketball, the reply is a convincing sure.
“She’s a legend,” California coach and former Stanford participant and assistant Charmin Smith texted the AP. “The sport will miss her.”
