| Tom Tait accepts his USA All-Time Great Coach Award from Doug Beal, the CEO of USA Volleyball and former longtime USA Men's Volleyball Head Coach. (Courtesy of Bill Kauffman/USAV) |
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; May 25, 2007 - G. Thomas (Tom) Tait, the founding father of both the Penn State men??s and women??s volleyball programs, was honored as an All-Time Great Coach in the Pioneer Division by USA Volleyball at the USAV Boyce Awards banquet in Austin on May 24.
Tait, an inaugural inductee into the American Volleyball Coaches Association??s (AVCA) Hall of Fame in 2003, founded and coached the Penn State University women??s volleyball club in 1974. By 1976, he convinced the Penn State administration to add both men??s and women??s volleyball as varsity sports.
??This is a great recognition for Tom??s contributions to volleyball and coaching in general,?? said women??s head coach Russ Rose, who took over the program from Tait in 1979 and was himself recognized as a USAV All-Time Great Coach in the Contemporary Division in 2005. ??He is a great leader in both of those areas and this award is a reflection of the impact he has made within the game. We wouldn??t be where we are today without him.??
Tait led both the men??s and women??s teams in the infancy of the programs. He guided the women??s squad from 1976-78 and compiled a 51-43-4 record before relinquishing those duties to focus on the men??s volleyball program.
??Penn State men's volleyball would not be where it is today without the drive, tenacity and brilliant teaching of Coach Tait,?? said current men??s head coach Mark Pavlik. ??Every one of us who has been coached or mentored by him has benefited in so many more ways than just volleyball. USA Volleyball's honor of All-Time Great Coach is very fitting and well-deserved, and the Nittany Lion volleyball nation is standing and applauding our founding leader.??
Tait turned one of the country??s top men??s club teams into a successful NCAA Division I program after winning the USVBA National Collegiate Championship in 1976. Penn State reached the NCAA national semifinals five times and won 355 of 432 matches (355-88-9) between 1977 and 1988. The Nittany Lions placed second nationally in 1982 after defeating University of Southern California in the NCAA semifinals and losing to national champion UCLA in the finals. Tait coached 20 All-Americans while guiding the Penn State men??s volleyball team. He was named the 1986 Volleyball Monthly National Coach of the Year.
Outside of collegiate coaching, Tait served as head coach of the U.S. Sports Festival in 1978, 1985 and 1986. He was an assistant coach on the U.S. Men??s Junior National Team in 1982 for the Pacific Rim Championships and FIVB World Junior Championships. Tait guided Team USA in the 1983 World University Games and later that year served as an assistant coach on the Pan American Games team.
Tait is a charter member of the USA Volleyball Coaching Accreditation Program (CAP) cadre. Since 1988, he has conducted Level I, II and III courses throughout the United States. Among his individual honors include being selected as a Leader in Volleyball by USA Volleyball in 1993.
For more information on the Penn State men??s and women??s volleyball teams, please visit www.GoPSUsports.com.
USA All-Time Great Coaches ?C Pioneer Division:
1995: Bertha H. Lucas; Edward B. DeGroot, Jr.
1996: Harry E. Wilson
1997: Val Keller
1998: Harold Peterson (posthumously)
1999: Dr. James E. Coleman, Dr. Dixie Grimmett
2000: Harlan Cohen, Bill Odeneal
2004: Terry Pettit
2006: Manny Saenz, Catalino R. "Iggy" Ignacio (posthumously)
2007: G. Thomas (Tom) Tait
USA All-Time Great Coaches ?C Contemporary Division:
1995: Doug Beal, Al Scates
1996: Marilyn McReavy Nolen, Donald S. Shondell
1997: Linda Dollar
1998: no award given
1999: Dr. Marv Dunphy, Dr. Arie Selinger
2000: Andy Banachowski, Carl McGown
2001: Elaine Michaelis
2002: Dave Shoji
2003: Brian Gimmillaro
2004: Mick Haley
2005: Russ Rose, John Dunning
2006: Terry Liskevych, Mary Wise
2007: Fred. G. Sturm