Milne Alumni February Newsletter
February 15, 2024

by Judy Koblintz Madnick, '61

In this issue:

* Tara VanDerveer is now the Winningest Coach in College Basketball History!
* Sad News

TARA VanDERVEER IS NOW THE WINNINGEST COACH IN COLLEGE BASKETBALL HISTORY!

From Sandra HERKOWITZ Kennedy, '68:

Recently it was reported in the news that Tara VanDerveere was the most successful coach in NCAA basketball, surpassing the record of former Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski with 1203 wins as of January 21, 2024. Ven DerVeere has been the head women's basketball coach at Stanford University since 1985. This was an astounding achievement as there is still plenty of gender bias in women’s sports in terms of media coverage, equipment, money. Tara attended Milne and also the University of Albany.

Well loved by her players and fans, Tara’s key to winning was unheard of back in the beginning in women’s sports. Emphasizing that her players had to be strong and fit in the last five minutes of the game as well as throughout, she introduced strength training and stamina building into her training, and insisted on it. Her single-minded devotion as a coach can be read at https://www.si.com/college/2024/01/22/tara-vanderveer-stanford-all-time-winningest-coach-idaho-career and the more personal profile https://theathletic.com/3555324/2022/09/02/stanford-tara-vanderveers-minnesota-lake-house/. There are other articles and you tube videos as well.

When I first heard the news of Tara VanDerveere’s accomplishment, I thought of coach Barbara Palm. She coached Tara at Milne and at SUNY. She coached me at Milne in bowling and softball, and while I don’t remember our win/loss record, I do remember that she was a big motivator throughout my time at Milne. My friend, Ron Laraway, who graduated in our class of 1968 and played several sports, still talks about Coach Lewis with awe and appreciation. It takes a unique person to be a coach: to dedicate themselves to bringing out the best in others. It’s selfless and a balance of instilling motivation, skill, dedication, winning attitude, belief in pushing beyond one’s limits: many keys to winning and success.

I contacted Coach Palm, whom I have lunch with every summer or fall when she comes east. She had become inducted into the SUNY Brockport College Hall of Fame in 2018 in recognition of her lifetime dedication and involvement in women’s sports and coaching. https://gobrockport.com/honors/brockport-hall-of-fame/barbara-j-palma/218. In that regard, she has been as single minded and dedicated as Tara VanDerveere.

Coach Palm attended a Stanford/University of Arizona basketball game Sunday, January 28, and spent some time to visit with Tara, which she usually does when Stanford comes to town. They stayed in touch with each other for all these decades. I wanted to ask Coach Palm how much she felt her own coaching had to do with Tara’s success. Coach Palm is very modest so I was certain she would answer this question in an understated way. Which she did.

“How much do you think your coaching has had to do with Tara’s success?” I asked.

“Very little,” she replied. “Tara came with all that ability. She exceeded everyone in ability. Coach Lewis used to say he wished she was a boy so she could play on his team.”

I had read an article that stated one of the keys to Tara’s wins is making sure her players were as strong in the last five minutes of a game as they were at the beginning and throughout.

“Do you think this was one of the major keys to her success?” I asked Coach Palm.

“Probably,” she replied. “She took notes at Bobby Knight’s practice sessions. She concentrates totally on the game. She was ahead of her time.”

“How do you think she has managed to not burn out over the course of such an intense and long career? How much longer do you think she’ll stay coaching?” I was eager to hear Coach Palm’s thoughts about this.

“She takes care of herself,” Coach Palm replied. “She swims and enjoys her vacations. But with the industry changing and now Stanford is in the Atlantic Coast Conference, Tara will have to fly to Florida for games. She has three years on this current contract. After that, who knows what she will decide to do.”

After we hung up, I thought a lot about Coach Palm, Tara VanDeVeere, my years at Milne and how connected I still feel to that time in my life and to my classmates.

Congratulations, Tara!

Coaches Palm and VanDerveere