Publication Date: Friday, May 14, 2004
It's match point for Gould
It's match point for Gould
(May 14, 2004) Veteran Stanford men's tennis coach is coming down to the final home matches of his illustrious 38-year career
byKeith Peters
Dick Gould will head out to the tennis courts this weekend, wearing his customary red hat and wearing his trademark black sunglasses. He'll give some pep talks and provide some key insight to his players. It's ritual that has been going on for nearly four decades.
Something, however, will be different this time, unlike those previous 920 matches of Gould's illustrious 38 years as head coach of the Stanford men's tennis team.
The next loss for the Cardinal will be Gould's last. Following this NCAA tournament, which begins Saturday and continues Sunday with first- and second-round matches at Stanford's Taube Tennis Center, Gould will step aside and become Director of Tennis on The Farm.
Where has the time gone?
Not even Gould could imagine this arrival of this day. Nor does he want to accept the finality of what will happen, no matter how far the Cardinal go in the tournament.
"That thought has never occurred to me, it really has not," Gould said this week, while preparing his No. 9-ranked team for Saturday's noon match against Pacific and a potential matchup Sunday against either Washington or New Mexico, also at noon
"Once it's over," he said, "I'm sure it will hit me."
For John Whitlinger, that feeling already has found its mark.
"It will be emotional for me," admitted Whitlinger, who for the past 18 years has been Gould's right-hand man. "That last match . . . I know I'll be emotional about it. We've come through a lot in 18 years. Will it affect him much? I'm not sure, but I think deep down, yeah, this is it. These are definitely his last one or two matches at home . . . his last NCAA tournament."
Where has the time gone?
It was only 38 years of yesterdays ago that Gould was given his personal key to The Farm and a lifetime love affair began. Gould remembers the in 1967 moment, as if it were, well, yesterday.
"I remember the day I was hired," Gould said. "I came into the athletic department and they said, 'where do you want your desk?"
Gould looked around and came up with a better idea.
"I said there's an old shack out there by the tennis courts. Looks like it would be a great office for me. That was, for 17 years, my office. The green shack."
And his first practice?
"I don't remember it, in particular, but I basically met the players and they were excited about a change at that point. They were probably as excited about a change then as they are now!"
Gould, who graduated from Stanford in 1960, provided an eye opener with his return. He told his players, who regularly had been trounced by UCLA and USC every season, that things were going to change. The goal was to win a national championship.
"I probably lost all credibility with them, talking that way," Gould said.
Gould also wanted more structure and more accountability from the players, in addition to more effort toward the long-range goal "which I don't think they could grasp at the time," he said.
"It was a great group of guys. And, to this days, everyone of them is still among my best friends," Gould said. "We went through a lot of growing pains together and they taught me a lot."
That first goal of winning a national title took seven years of overcoming Stanford's reputation of an academic-only institution in addition to opening up the recruiting boundaries.
"As soon as we went nationwide with our recruiting effort, that opened up a lot as more kids came to us," Gould said. "I might have been one of the more aggressive recruiters in the country in those days, and that might have given me some advantage. But, I had no credibility because I wasn't a great player in college.
In 1973, however, that credibility arrived as Stanford knocked off nemesis USC in the national finals and finish the season with 20 victories for the first time in school history. A year later, Stanford won its second straight title as Whitlinger led the way in addition to claiming the NCAA singles and doubles (with Jim Delaney) crowns.
"I was really obsessed with the idea that this really could be done," Gould said of bringing the program into national prominence.
Since those back-to-back titles, 15 more NCAA team championships have followed. New challenges arose and Gould took them on vigorously. The original courts, built in 1926, were replaced with a new stadium. To this day, the work that began in 1967 is nearly complete and nearly every goal that Gould set out to complete has been achieved.
"Yes, we proved we could win nationals," he said. "I didn't think about the longevity of it, then we did it again. It became something of a goal. It was possible. And if it's possible, you should aspire to do it."
Then it became an obsession to keep the national titles coming.
"Since we won our first one, we've won more than half the time," Gould said. "I'm really proud of keeping that longevity going for over 30 years. That's really important, because it's not easy to do. Winning was the first goal; keeping it going was the second."
Gould's newest goal is to make sure the program doesn't fall victim to a sagging economy or university budget cuts. Other colleges and universities have eliminated men's tennis and Gould wants to make sure that never happens.
To insure that, he has set out to endow the entire program. Once that it complete, the combination of upgrading the facilities and funding the program will have totaled $30 million. And it's close to fruition.
"My goal was not only to be able to win, but to leave here with everything completely done," Gould said.
Next up is another ambitious goal.
"The last thing I wanted to do was host a really great NCAA championship," said Gould, who never wanted to assume such a task while still coaching. "If we're lucky, we'll be able to host the first combined NCAA championships (in 2006). I kind of like being the first to do things."
Stanford will learn later this summer if it gets the 2006 championships. Whitlinger believes it's close to a done deal. After all, who could turn down Gould? No other tennis coach in NCAA history has won as many team titles (17) as Gould. Who else had the foresight to transform facilities and a program and turn both into the most admired and respected in the country?
Whitlinger, who will assume the head-coaching duties from Gould on Sept. 1 of this year, has learned a great deal from his mentor.
"I've learned his work habits, his work ethic, the way he deals with people," Whitlinger said. "He always has time for people. He gives of his time so much. He just cares. The guy cares. That's what I've taken away from Dick and his respect of the game, his respect for the university and his respect for the players."
Whitlinger knows very well how much Gould will be missed next year.
"We've had a great run together," he said. "We've been a great team. It will be different, there's no question. But, somebody followed Lombardi. Somebody followed John Wooden and you just keep going, hopefully keep building on what you have. You get better and see what happens."
Still, Gould will be tough to replace. He has been a motivator, an innovator, a teacher, family man, mentor and best friend to many.
"He'll be badly missed," Whitlinger said. "He's the elder statesman now. Everybody looks up to him and respects him."
For Gould, 66, the time is ripe to do something else.
"I'm tired," he admitted this week. "I've done it for 38 years. I've gone to the same hotel in LA for 38 years the same weekend in April. I've done the same thing in Arizona for 25 years. That kind of thing is getting a little old.
"I'm excited bout the end of this year, but I haven't thought beyond that. I haven't gotten nostalgic about it because we have a job to do."
That would be attempting to win one more NCAA title. For sure, it's a longshot. The Cardinal are just 16-7 heading into Saturday's opening-round match against Pacific.
"We have not jelled as a team, because we've had a ton of injury problems," Gould said. "It will be interesting to see how far we can take this team. Right now, that's all encompassing for us. If the guys believe in themselves, I think they can take this thing a long way."
And if not? Then one of the most remarkable coaching careers in collegiate history will be over.
And where did the time go?
"I could die tomorrow and say I've had a wonderful opportunity and lived a great life. And I wouldn't feel I've missed anything."
Well, yes and no.
"I will miss the day to day action with the kids," Gould said. "That's the frosting on the cake. I still get butterflies before a match. I'll miss that excitement. I will miss the thrill of the competition, the camaraderie with the coaches and players."
And the tennis world will miss Dick Gould.
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