šµ Watch the full episodešhttps://ept.ms/TaraVanDerveer_YT š“ BEST OFFER EVER: https://ept.ms/3WcNxg8 šµ Watch more: https://www.epochtv.com Tara VanDerveer, one of the most successful coaches in basketball history, reflects on her legendary career, leadership philosophy, and the evolution of women's sports in today's episode.
She shares how she transformed Stanford's struggling basketball program into a powerhouse, winning multiple national championships and inspiring generations of athletes. "We built a culture of excellenceāhard work, teamwork, and believing in the dream," she explains.
VanDerveer also opens up about coaching Team USA to Olympic gold in 1996, the impact of Title IX on women's sports, and the lessons she's learned from decades of coaching at the highest level.
"I never felt like coaching was a jobāit was my passion," she says, highlighting the importance of doing what you love and mentoring young athletes.
Join us for an inspiring conversation about leadership, resilience, and the enduring impact of womenās basketball.
Well I'd always watched a lot of basketball and I'd always watched a lot of coaches.
I actually, I've been fired from one job and that was, I was a mascot for the boys
team and I had to wear a bear head and, but I took the head off and I'm turning around,
instead of leading the cheers I'm watching the game so I got fired from that job.
They thought I was crazy.
What does it take to become the winningest coach in college basketball history, to turn
a struggling team into a dynasty, or to lead our national team to be so dominant they never
lost, even once.
Today's Bay Area innovator is Tara Vander Veer, a true legend.
In her 38 years at Stanford, she built a powerhouse, won three NCAA titles, and rewrote the record
books with second most wins in NCAA history, men or women.
In 1996, she led Team USA to Olympic gold with a flawless 60-0 record.
It's not really so much winning as much as you want your team to play the best they can.
We're always trying to get better, we're always trying to be the best that we could be, and
that was the challenge.
How does she do it?
What's her secret?
And what can all of us, whether in sports, business, or just life, learn from her playbook?
And we did a practice medal ceremony nine months ahead of the real medal ceremony.
And I said to the team, we had a big video and it showed what the Olympics were going
to be like.
I said in nine months, someone is going to win the gold medal, and if you want it to
be us, then here's what we need to do.
And we did a gold medal ceremony where I put the gold medals over their heads and they
put their arms up in the air, and they're really excited about it.
We took a picture of the gold medal and put it on the front of our notebooks.
Stick around, because today we're breaking it all down with the one and only Tara Vanderbilt.
This is Beir E Innovators, and I'm your host, Steve Esposito.
