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Shooting from the Outside
Shooting from the Outside is a story of triumph on many levels. Woven through VanDerveer's account of the team's pressure-packed year is the profoundly inspiring story of her own rise as a coach. Like women in business, medicine, and other demanding professions, VanDerveer had to forge her own way with little direction or support. Having come of age before the Title IX ruling that prohibited sex discrimination in sports, the closest she could get to a basketball team in junior high was in a bear costume as the mascot. From her early days as an aspiring player to her first unpaid coaching job to her current position at the top of her field, her story encompasses the unfolding 25-year saga of women in team sports. Shooting from the Outside is a story of triumph on many levels. Woven through VanDerveer's account of the team's pressure-packed year is the profoundly inspiring story of her own rise as a coach. Like women in business, medicine, and other demanding professions, VanDerveer had to forge her own way with little direction or support. Having come of age before the Title IX ruling that prohibited sex discrimination in sports, the closest she could get to a basketball team in junior high was in a bear costume as the mascot. From her early days as an aspiring player to her first unpaid coaching job to her current position at the top of her field, her story encompasses the unfolding 25-year saga of women in team sports.
273 pages, Hardcover
First published September 1, 1997
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 16, 2019
This inspiring memoir by Tara VanDerveer (with Joan Ryan), head coach of the Stanford women’s basketball program and architect of the WNBA, recounts the trailblazing, yearlong journey that would forever change her life as a coach and the history of women’s basketball.
Written for savvy women’s sports enthusiasts, this 273-page account chronicles the pressure-packed year of “constant anxiety” VanDerveer spent preparing Team USA for the 1996 Olympics while barnstorming the country to build interest in a professional women’s basketball league. The early chapters are somewhat dull and repetitive, and the Epilogue is an unfortunate afterthought that detracts from the well-paced final chapter describing Team USA’s epic quest for gold. However, the narrative picks up speed as the duo describes the grueling effort behind the scenes that propelled one of the most dominant teams in sports history to the pinnacle of success, compiling a 60-0 record against the best teams in the world on their way to winning the Olympic gold medal.
Along the way, we learn about the coach who was the engine of the Team USA juggernaut, a perfectionist whose impeccable preparation gives her team the winning edge, whose obsession with breaking down game film earns her the nickname “Video VanDerveer,” whose fear of failure drives her to exhaustion, whose quest for perfection demands the best of the great players who would take the women’s game to a whole new level of excellence, and whose visionary leadership would create a brand-new world of opportunities for women in sports that she could only dream of as a girl. VanDerveer accomplishes all of this with little direction or support and a lot of criticism from those who are eager for her crusade against sexism and gender inequality in women’s sports to fail.
We also get a glimpse of the woman behind the whistle, a multi-faceted personality who developed her love for sailing and the arts, especially music, during the annual family sojourns to Chautauqua, New York, the famous lake resort and arts community. VanDerveer also describes growing up as a sports fanatic and her frustration with the lack of athletic opportunities for girls before the inception of Title IX that prohibited sex discrimination in sports; the grudging acceptance of the letter, rather than the spirit, of that law; and the pervasive sexism and gender discrimination that still taint so many high school and college sports programs. With a keen sense of history and a dry sense of humor, VanDerveer recounts her 25-year saga as a female athlete, from her earliest days as an aspiring player barred from competition because of her gender to her stellar basketball career at Albany and Indiana to her first coaching position (unpaid) at Ohio State to her rise to the top of her profession as head coach at Stanford.
This remarkable story would be richer and even more inspiring had VanDerveer divulged some of the more personal aspects of the countless sacrifices she made to make this magical year happen for Team USA. We get hints here and there of the personal deprivation she endured, such as spending long stretches away from home. However, there is no discussion of how difficult these choices were for her and her partner and their family, giving readers the impression that VanDerveer had no life apart from basketball, which was hardly the case. Perhaps adding homophobia to the list of evils she was combatting would have been a bridge too far when this book was published in 1997.
To be sure, VanDerveer was the perfect choice to lead the U.S. women’s basketball team to glory in 1996, showing the nation and the world the power of a dream made real with sufficient financial backing and enthusiastic fan support. Only someone like VanDerveer, who believes so passionately that women’s sports have wider social significance, would have been able to make the necessary sacrifices and endure the deprivation chronicled in this memoir. Bearing the scars of her dreams deferred like a banner, she was also the ideal crusader to lead the charge in this heroic quest for gender equality and equal opportunity for women in sports. With fervent conviction, VanDerveer has since turned her scars into stars by doing everything within her power to ensure that her generation will be the last to endure such deprivation and indignities. The three-time National Coach of the Year, Olympic gold-medal winner, and Naismith Hall-of-Famer will long be remembered for this extraordinary year that changed everything for the better for countless female athletes who deserve equal opportunity to pursue their dreams in every field of endeavor.
Written for savvy women’s sports enthusiasts, this 273-page account chronicles the pressure-packed year of “constant anxiety” VanDerveer spent preparing Team USA for the 1996 Olympics while barnstorming the country to build interest in a professional women’s basketball league. The early chapters are somewhat dull and repetitive, and the Epilogue is an unfortunate afterthought that detracts from the well-paced final chapter describing Team USA’s epic quest for gold. However, the narrative picks up speed as the duo describes the grueling effort behind the scenes that propelled one of the most dominant teams in sports history to the pinnacle of success, compiling a 60-0 record against the best teams in the world on their way to winning the Olympic gold medal.
Along the way, we learn about the coach who was the engine of the Team USA juggernaut, a perfectionist whose impeccable preparation gives her team the winning edge, whose obsession with breaking down game film earns her the nickname “Video VanDerveer,” whose fear of failure drives her to exhaustion, whose quest for perfection demands the best of the great players who would take the women’s game to a whole new level of excellence, and whose visionary leadership would create a brand-new world of opportunities for women in sports that she could only dream of as a girl. VanDerveer accomplishes all of this with little direction or support and a lot of criticism from those who are eager for her crusade against sexism and gender inequality in women’s sports to fail.
We also get a glimpse of the woman behind the whistle, a multi-faceted personality who developed her love for sailing and the arts, especially music, during the annual family sojourns to Chautauqua, New York, the famous lake resort and arts community. VanDerveer also describes growing up as a sports fanatic and her frustration with the lack of athletic opportunities for girls before the inception of Title IX that prohibited sex discrimination in sports; the grudging acceptance of the letter, rather than the spirit, of that law; and the pervasive sexism and gender discrimination that still taint so many high school and college sports programs. With a keen sense of history and a dry sense of humor, VanDerveer recounts her 25-year saga as a female athlete, from her earliest days as an aspiring player barred from competition because of her gender to her stellar basketball career at Albany and Indiana to her first coaching position (unpaid) at Ohio State to her rise to the top of her profession as head coach at Stanford.
This remarkable story would be richer and even more inspiring had VanDerveer divulged some of the more personal aspects of the countless sacrifices she made to make this magical year happen for Team USA. We get hints here and there of the personal deprivation she endured, such as spending long stretches away from home. However, there is no discussion of how difficult these choices were for her and her partner and their family, giving readers the impression that VanDerveer had no life apart from basketball, which was hardly the case. Perhaps adding homophobia to the list of evils she was combatting would have been a bridge too far when this book was published in 1997.
To be sure, VanDerveer was the perfect choice to lead the U.S. women’s basketball team to glory in 1996, showing the nation and the world the power of a dream made real with sufficient financial backing and enthusiastic fan support. Only someone like VanDerveer, who believes so passionately that women’s sports have wider social significance, would have been able to make the necessary sacrifices and endure the deprivation chronicled in this memoir. Bearing the scars of her dreams deferred like a banner, she was also the ideal crusader to lead the charge in this heroic quest for gender equality and equal opportunity for women in sports. With fervent conviction, VanDerveer has since turned her scars into stars by doing everything within her power to ensure that her generation will be the last to endure such deprivation and indignities. The three-time National Coach of the Year, Olympic gold-medal winner, and Naismith Hall-of-Famer will long be remembered for this extraordinary year that changed everything for the better for countless female athletes who deserve equal opportunity to pursue their dreams in every field of endeavor.
September 2, 2019
A wonderful and honest look at what the 1996 team endured in their efforts to create buzz for a Women's Pro League (2) and win the gold medal in Atlanta. Loved how open and honest Coach Vanderveer is in this book about how she was feeling about her team, their skills and weaknesses, how they gelled personally and could they really win the gold medal after an intense year of training!
August 27, 2013
Non-fiction. Tough coach - won at the 1996 Olympics.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews