Al Scates of UCLA is to retire after 50 years – Volleyball news
Al Scates is the living legend, who has spent a great deal of time with Volleyball Program of University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), is supposed to retire after 50-year tenure at the end of this season.
He started as player at UCLA and debuted as a coach in 1963. Since then he is attached with UCLA and has led the Bruins to the heights of fame. He has coached hundreds and hundreds of players, and has helped scores of aspiring athletes to live their dreams.
The Head Coach of UCLA women’s team Michael Sealy strongly believes that there is not a person who ever went to UCLA volleyball and did not have Scates as head coach. He was the one who started NCAA men’s volleyball and has seen 19 NCAA national championships
up till now.
Hugh McCutcheon, the head coach of U.S. women’s national volleyball team, expressed his views about the living legend, “He’s a unique guy, no question. He’s set records I can’t ever imagine being broken. I can’t imagine coaching somewhere for 50 seasons
and having whatever he’s at, 1,200-plus wins. It’s an incredible career and it’ll be unmatched.”
Al is 72 years of the age and is currently on the farewell tour across the college volleyball world. On the tour, University of Hawaii presented him a warrior’s club. Likewise, Southern California gave him an official Trojan’s jersey inscribed with No. 50.
Moreover, the USC called the former Trojans from the 1980 team that defeated Scates’ team at the national championship match. Scates was happy to see the players and posed for pictures with them.
Trojans’ Head Coach, Bill Ferguson commented, “He is responsible for so much of our sport’s development that we will never be able to fathom what he did to promote our game. He is the best in-game tactician there ever was.”
The Pepperdine also presented him a beautiful landscape of sunset over the ocean. Scates cracked up while telling that he had to pay 500 bucks for the frame.
Everyone is showing respect for Scates’ valuable services for the UCLA volleyball programme. Many believe that it may not happen again in the history of any sport.
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