Tara VanDerveer Net Worth, Age, Height, Bio, Birthday, Wiki!

Tara VanDerveer Biography

Tara VanDerveer is one of the most popular and richest Basketball Player who was born on June 26, 1953 in Melrose, Massachusetts, United States. VanDerveer was born on the 26 1953 in the home of Dunbar VanDerveer and Rita VanDerveer, who named their first child “Tara” after the plantation in Gone with the Wind. Her birthplace was Melrose, Massachusetts, a part of Greater Boston, but grew up in a small town called West Hill, near Schenectady, New York. Her parents were passionate about an education that was comprehensive. Her father was pursuing an advanced degree at the school that is now The University at Albany. He and his family travelled to the Chautauqua Institution during the summer months, where she was a student of the athletics and arts. She has record for the Chautauqua Boys and Girls Club record for the longest Softball throw in the year 1967. At age 10 her parents purchased her a flute and set up lessons. A few years later one of the most renowned flutists around resided in Chautauqua and her father made arrangements for lessons with the renowned instructor. While she was able to learn how to play the flute, she was not a fan of the process and decided to give up the flute when she was in the ninth grade. Music was a passion that was never lost to her, and later on, she took on the piano.

In 1985, VanDerveer had established Ohio State into a nationally ranking team, breaking in the Top 20 in 1984, and then reaching the 7th spot on the list of final ranking for 1985. Their performance in 1985 earned them two seeds for the 1985 NCAA Women’s Division I Basketball Tournament. They reached the Elite Eight, but lost by just four points to eventual winner Old Dominion. Although Stanford became one of the most powerful teams in the country in women’s basketball, back in 1985, the team was having a difficult time coming off a 9-19 record after a 523-win year with just 300 people attending a game. In spite of this, Andy Geiger convinced VanDerveer to join Stanford to take over as Head Coach. VanDerveer later recalled that her colleagues told her that moving to Stanford was a mistake due to the fact that Stanford had not “brainy” to be good in sports. VanDerveer said “My dad told me I was crazy to take this job. He said, ‘You’ll be unemployed and coming home to live with us in three months’.”

The selection of VanDerveer was not surprising. The USA Basketball organization typically selects coaches for some of the junior teams, to assess who will be most qualified to lead the National Team at the Olympics. This was no exception. VanDerveer had worked with USA Basketball teams in 1986 and 1990, and served as the head coach of the team representing the US at the 1991 World University Games. That team went 8–0 and won the gold medal in Sheffield, England. Two years later, she coached the team in the World Championship qualifying event. She continued at the coach of the National team at the 1994 World Championships in Sydney, where the USA team won the bronze medal. Two months later, VanDerveer coached the USA Goodwill Games team to a 4–0 record and a gold medal at the 1994 Goodwill Games in Saint Petersburg. So when it was time to select the Olympic coach, VanDerveer had coached several USA Basketball teams, including the full national team. The previous involvement of VanDerveer meant she was the obvious choice as coach, but she was initially reluctant to take the position, as she had decided that to do it properly, she would need to take a leave of absence from Stanford. In her words, “When you’re representing your country, it’s not something you want to mess up.” She eventually decided to take the position, and did take the leave of absence, with Amy Tucker and Marianne Stanley taking over the reins at Stanford in her absence.

Another milestone was reached in the following year, when Stanford won the Pac-10 regular season, the first of many conference championships. They earned a two seed in the NCAA tournament, and played to their seed, losing to Louisiana Tech in the Midwest Regional Final. The pieces came together in 1990, with one key being Jennifer Azzi. The 1990 Final Four would be held in Knoxville, Tennessee. Azzi was from Oak Ridge, not far from Knoxville. VanDerveer had traveled to Knoxville in 1985, to try to persuade this potential star to play for Stanford. Azzi made the decision to go to Stanford, and now, four years later, brought the team to her parents’ house after beating Arkansas in the West Regional, reaching their first Final Four and a trip to Knoxville.

While it was true that the USA Basketball women’s national team enjoyed a lot of success during the 1980s, winning the 1984 Olympics and in the 1986 World Championship, the 1988 Olympics, and the 1990 World Championship — there were warning signs. There was a concern about the USA women’s Pan American team, while not officially the national team but has, since the mid-1970s has included several from the same team from players on the national squad. In 1991, the Pan Am team in 1991 was third in the championship, signalling an end to Team USA’s dominance in the past. The national team placed third in the 1992 Olympics and then third during 1994’s World Championship. In 1995, the Pan Am Games were cancelled which meant that the players from the national team were not able to victory following in the year 1992 Olympics.