Okay, so I’ve been digging into this whole Tara VanDerveer thing. You know, the legendary Stanford basketball coach? Turns out, it’s been quite a ride figuring out who she is and what’s she’s all about.
First off, I started by just googling her name, obviously. I mean, where else would you start, right? Loads of stuff popped up – articles, interviews, the usual. But I wanted to get the real scoop, not just the same old stuff everyone else is reading. So I dug deeper.
Who is Tara VanDerveer?
- Born: June 26, 1953. Yep, she’s 71 and still killing it!
- Hometown: Melrose, Massachusetts.
- College: Indiana, class of ’75. Go Hoosiers!
Then I started looking into her career. This woman’s a beast! Over 42 years of coaching, with a record of 1157-242. Seriously, who does that? She’s been at Stanford since 1985, which is basically forever in coach years.
She had a short stint at San Diego State under her Hall of Fame big sister Tara VanDerveer at Stanford, and was the associate head coach at San Diego State under longtime Aztecs coach Beth Burns for one season prior to taking the job at Occidental.
I stumbled upon this interview transcript, where she’s talking about making a “concerted effort”. Sounds intense, but then again, you don’t get to be a legend by slacking off. There was also this bit about her almost quitting coaching 10 years ago! Can you imagine? Luckily, someone named John Arrillaga talked her out of it. Whew, close call!
There was something about her bandwidth those years, She had two children as a single mother. Now Paye is married, and she and her wife Raquel added a third to their family.
She emphasized that early in her retirement news conference on Wednesday. She had plenty of reasons, but said the shifting college sports landscape is not among them. “I wanted to give myself time when the season was finished, but the time has felt right,” VanDerveer said Wednesday.
Personal Life?
This is where it gets tricky. She’s super private. No mention of a wife anywhere. All I could find was that she’s unmarried and likes to play bridge online. Yeah, that’s it. I guess some things are just meant to be kept under wraps, huh?
Anyway, then I found out she’s about to become the winningest coach in college basketball history. That’s huge! And she’s calling her time at Stanford “nothing short of magical.” I mean, who wouldn’t after all those wins?
So yeah, that’s what I’ve managed to piece together about Tara VanDerveer. It’s been a bit of a wild goose chase, but hey, that’s the fun of it, right? Learning about these legends, even if they’re a bit mysterious, is always a good time.
There you have it. My deep dive into the world of Tara VanDerveer. It wasn’t easy, but it was definitely worth it. I hope you enjoyed this little journey as much as I did. Catch you next time, folks!
