At long last, Lin Loring
is retiring, after 44 years as the IU women’s tennis coach. He has more wins than
any other coach in the history of the sport.
The remarkable thing,
though, is that in 44 years, every one, EVERY ONE, of his players has
graduated. A 100% graduation rate. Nobody does that. But Loring did.
True, tennis players are
more likely to come from a background where academic success is expected, far
more than, say, football players. But if you were a coach, do you think you
could get every one of your players over 44 years into Assembly Hall in a cap
and gown?
He’s old now. Not by my
standards. I think of him as a youngster. But by coaching standards. He coached
four years at UCSB before coming to IU. 48 years is a long career.
There’s no particular moral
here. Just an awareness of something special. I don’t know Loring, but I am
impressed each time I think of how clear his vision of success must have been,
to achieve that remarkable graduation rate.
JRMcF
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