stop and say, ‘Wow this or Wow, I’m a success at this’. Well, I’m just doing it. I’m still doing it. It’s never over. You’re always working to get better. SVL: What advice do you offer to aspiring basketball players or aspiring youth? TV: In anything, if you want to be accomplished, you have to put a lot of time into something. You have to love it. You have to have passion for it. For someone to do anything, you need to be passionate about it, excited about it, enthusiastic and work at it every day. And you don’t know where it’s going to take you. I had no idea that basketball would take me to where it has taken me. But, I love basketball. I love to watch
THE LOVE OF THE GAME,
A great student ... a great teacher ... a great leader. Tara VanDerveer and team in their pregame preparation as they were about to play UConn in the Final Four.
Music and Life A Fascinating Conversation with Stanford’s Tara VanDerveer
it, I love to play it; I love to think about it, talk about it. I still do. To be good at something, yes, you have to put a lot of time into it, and you have to have a plan - how to always improve and get better. SVL: What advice do you offer people in life in general? TV: Young people that I meet, or even if I’m speaking, I think first of all, for the most part - I mean look at our lives, how fortunate we are to live where we live, the people that we are around, the opportunities that we have, the beauty of the Bay Area, all this great weather … It’s not to say that there aren’t problems or issues. I say to our team: when you wake up in the morning, you have two choices: Are you going to have a good day or are you going to have a great day? Make it a
Tara VanDerveer is the Setsuko Ishiyama Director of Women’s Basketball at
life and the people she meets … and she loves her coaching. There is so
Stanford University. She is one of the greatest coaches, men or women, bas-
much … in basketball … in music … and in life … She is the ultimate student
ketball or any sport, of any era. She is just one of six Women’s College Basket-
of all … and the ultimate teacher, too. I hope you enjoy this visit with her as
ball coaches to win more than 900 games … and coaches at one of the very
much I certainly have.
few schools where the academic standards are so high, so many of the best recruits cannot be admitted and play for Stanford.
SVL: What is your definition of leadership? TV: I think leaders are people that don’t complain; they are people that get
Tara has won two national championships, 23 Pac-12 Championships, 11 Pac-
things done. Leaders to me are people with high energy; they really care
12 Tournament Championships and was the coach of the US Olympic Wom-
about the people they are working with. They care about the outcome of
en’s Basketball Team in Atlanta that went 60-0 and won the Gold Medal. She
events; they are unselfish, are very determined and are very resilient. I like
is also on the verge of becoming the winningest NCAA Women’s Basketball
resilient leaders. Having worked with different teams, leaders have to set a
Coach in history.
good example, they have to be people that you can identify with. Yes, the same can be said about coaching.
In 1985, Tara accepted the challenge of coming to Stanford where on the west coast women’s basketball was merely an afterthought. Tara saw some-
SVL: What is your definition of success?
thing … it called to her … and she has never looked back. She loves it here.
TV: I don’t know that I have a definition of success just because it seems like
“There is a culture of excellence here. We are part of a special place in time, to
it’s so fluid. To me, nothing is “done”. It is always a journey. So maybe you’re
be here, to be in the Silicon Valley and the Bay Area. It is very energizing and
lying on your deathbed and then you can say, “Wow, that was a success”. But,
it’s motivating. It gives me an incredible amount of energy.”
everything to me, a success seems like it’s a final answer. A final, here’s a successful season - Well, you’re always working on always improving and getting
She loves her piano every day, she loves her training for a triathlon, she loves
better. So, that’s a hard one for me. I am just kind of in the moment. I don’t
great day and do the things to make it a great day, by giving to others and by being excited. SVL: What would you say about how much life is about sports and sports is about life? TV: To me basketball is just my medium. Basketball, it could be an art, it could be ballet, it could be music. Anything you do, if someone is passionate about computers, or cars, what-
So excited. Tara VanDerveer loved being the honorary coach of the
ever it is you’re passionate about, that’s what you try to do,
Stanford football team. It was such fun and, sure enough, Stanford won big.
you try and learn as much as you can about them – work as hard as you can, like for me, to making our team as good as
cruiting weekend this weekend, so we are hoping there will be some more of those that want
it can be. Like Tesla, how do you make a great car, how do
what we call, “to be on the wall” … To be on the wall, they are great players, or All-Americans,
you make the great working environment. Whatever it is, it’s
or they’re great team players - teammates like Krista Rappahahn, who is now a doctor here at
all the same to me. You’re always recruiting, you’re always
Stanford – so it’s not just the All-American best, but All-American caliber players, teammates,
coaching. But basketball is my medium.
the whole thing. It’s going to be a big game this weekend vs. Arizona. You know, I’m the honorary coach this
SVL: What do you look for in your recruits?
weekend at the football game. I am very excited about it. I’m going to be talking to the team
TV: You know, really, it’s are they great basketball players and
Friday night. We have our recruits here, so it’s going to be a very busy weekend. I’ll be running
are they great students? And, then, those are people that we
out onto the field, will be there for the toss of the coin, I’ll be on the field and also in the stands
recruit. You hope the fact that they are very disciplined aca-
with our recruits, so I’ll be running back and forth. I am really excited about it.
demically and that they work really hard.
Over the years, I have been here with such great Football coaches … I have been very close
We just try to keep recruiting and it’s going to be a big re-
with a number of them. Coaches like Bill Walsh, Tyrone Willingham, Jim Harbaugh, David