“That Was Not a Job for Women”: Stanford Legend Tara Van Derveer Reflects On Bumpy Ride As She Stands Inches Away From Scripting History

Tara VanDerveer is close to scripting history. With the Stanford Cardinal winning their most recent game against the Oregon Ducks, VanDerveer leveled the record set by the former Duke Blue Devils head coach Mike Krzyzewski of being the winningest coach in the college basketball circuit. And before she breaks it and sets a legacy of her own, the 70-year-old had a confession to make while pondering over her career.

VanDerveer spoke of things that were hardly noticed by her fans and how her path was not an upright one. Instead, it was a bumpy ride all along.

What did VanDerveer say?

As per AP Sports writer Janie McCauley, VanDerveer had elaborated on the highs and lows of her life when she equalled the record. An emotional VanDerveer looked at her life in retrospect and reflected on how she reached the stage where she is right now and how the game was not supportive of women players back in her time.

“It’s like a dream come true. To have a dream and watch it play out. … I planned to go to law school because there were no coaches. That was not a job for women. My timing was horrible for playing but it was very good for coaching,” VanDerveer stated as per Janie McCauley.

VanDerveer had a hard time playing since there wasn’t much scope for the girls around the late 60s. Most of the girls would drop their plans of continuing the game as they grew older and the Massachusetts-born would play with her male counterparts. She would also buy the best ball she could afford so that the boys would take her in a team if they wanted to play with her ball. Going into college, the team at Albany wasn’t so competitive, and naturally there was no WNBA that could motivate women players to give their best and earn a living out of the game, whereas the NBA was in place.

However, the environment was conducive for coaches. When VanDerveer transferred to the Indiana she was coached by Bea Gorton. Gorton modeled her practices after Bobby Knight who had taken over the reins of the Indiana men’s basketball team.

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VanDerveer was also attracted by Knight’s team practices and made sure to implement those when she became the coach at the Stanford. For the record, she also went to win the National Coach of the Year five times while her team won the National Championship thrice. Well, looks like the champion coach is eyeing another record.

Which record is VanDerveer looking at?

The Stanford Cardinal will lock horns with the Oregon State on Sunday and it would give VanDerveer an opportunity to become the most winningest coach in college basketball surpassing Coach K. Fans and her near ones would be hoping for an eclectic win that would help the Cardinal better there record and have an impressive record. 

Going by her life, VanDerveer might not have gotten the opportunity to cement herself as a WNBA star but she had made the most of what was presented to her. So much so that she is a legend in her own right, and even NBA icon Stephen Curry had shared being keen to watch VanDerveer break boundaries.

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