September 28, 2021 Volume VI newsletter 3
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Image below- Mark on the left and brother Todd on the right
Brother Todd’s story of Longhorn walk-on to starter is at :
https://texas-lsn.squarespace.com/todd-smith
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Rodney Page has written several insightful articles for TLSN over the last four years. Combine those articles with his podcast, and he paints the troubling landscape for Texas during the early 1970s.
The photo below is the 1973 women’s basketball team proudly wearing their used volleyball uniforms.
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In 1973 UT had 412 black students and 1,600 Mexican American students enrolled of 41,000 students. Betty Thompson hired Rodney to coach the women’s first intercollegiate basketball team.
He is the first black coach at Texas, and Rodney says of his experience:
“I am not a victim; I am a victor!”
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Rodney’s Longhorn sports memories are saved in three formats- audio, text, and photos.
His story is compelling. Hired by Betty Thompson, fired by Donna Lopiano, and replaced with Jody Conradt, he learns to use adversity as an asset to create opportunity.
I want to personally thank Rodney for sharing many of his memories and stories on the TLSN website. He has chronicled some of the most critical moments in Longhorn’s sports history.
Like many other coaches of women sports in the 70’s, he had to improvise to survive. A small budget required his teams to play in used volleyball uniforms (see photo above) and compromise on amenities during road games. Cars- not planes- were used for travel, and some times the team had to stay with a family member.
Rodney Page wore many hats. He was the travel agent, coach, mentor, recruiter, and ground crew. Even with all the obstacles, his teams excelled, and he gives a lot of credit to his success to Betty Thompson, Coach Leon Black, and his great recruits Retha Swindell and Cathy Self-Morgan.
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The photos below are Longhorn academic scholarship basketball player Retha Swindell with Coach Rodney Page, taken 50 years apart.
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Kenneth Sims is #77 on the front cover of The Sporting News.
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Kenneth Sims would be the first to admit that it takes a team effort to build a great player. As a freshman, he was called the “pup” for a reason. As a pup, he still needed to build muscle and technique. Kenneth says, “I’m so proud of my teammates because you can’t have a Hall of Fame career without a bunch of Hall of Fame teammates.” Guys such as Jeff Leiding, Lawrence Sampleton, Steve McMichael, Eric Holle, William Graham, and Dana LeDuc (yes, Dana LeDuc), and many others all played a part in creating from scratch one of the greatest Longhorn football players ever. To learn more about Pup turned “Superman,” click on
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Coach Gail Goestenkor – An all too Common Story about Employment Burn-out
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If stress feels never-ending and comes with feelings of emptiness, apathy, and hopelessness, it may indicate burnout. I know many coaches at Texas who have quit due to burn-out, but, to my knowledge, none have admitted it publicly except Coach Goestenkor.
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Based on Coach Goestenkor’ss performance as the women’s basketball Head Coach at Duke, she was the right choice for Texas. Duke countered Texas’s financial offer. Still, she told Duke,” it was not about the money” it was about the challenge.” It was about a new opportunity.” “It was about an adventure.”
Five years later, in 2012, the “adventure” was over. Coach Goestenkor resigned because, as she said, I was physically and mentally “tired.”
She was unaware that 20 years of coaching the USA international basketball teams, the Olympic team, and acting as full time head coach at Duke had sapped her of the mental and physical energy she would need to maintain/rebuild the Texas women’s basketball program.
Goal-oriented coaches can only strive for “perfection” for so long before uncontrollable realities set in that can lead to burn-out. Gail Goestenkor is a casualty of coaching 12 months a year and working 12 hours a day.
Being tired is not a flaw in someone’s character. The opposite is true. Being tired is human, but it is how we handle fatigue that defines us.
In the end, a rallying cry she preached to all her student-athletes for decades knocked on her door, and she listened. Coach Goestenkor chose “TEAM MORE THAN ME!” and resigned understanding that her state of mind would hurt the Longhorn basketball program.
Horns-up ???? to Gail for the 25 years of her greatness as a Head coach and the examples she set for all the young women who were fortunate to have her guidance.
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Chris Doelle is the TLSN podcast host capturing Longhorn Sports History from those who created it. Posted podcasts include:
Ben Crenshaw is an All American golfer and Masters Champion. Golf does not define Ben Crenshaw-never did. Ben Crenshaw is a winner, but not just because of the small numbers he wrote on scorecards or an impressive repeatable golf swing and a classic putting stroke. Ben is “the real mark” because he treats everyone he meets with respect.
Spanky Stephens was the Longhorn Head Trainer. While at Texas, he supervised or worked directly with all sports, working with hundreds of athletes, five head football coaches, five head basketball coaches. He worked with nine Longhorn teams that won national championships.
Jimmy Nixon was instrumental in funding the Earl Campbell bronze. Presently he is seeking donors to complete the funding of the four national championship quarterbacks bust.
Johnny Carsey tells an excellent basketball story about walking on and playing for Abe Lemons NIT champion team.
Bill Atessis is an All American football player who was a significant reason the Horns won 30 games in a row and two national championships.
Duke Carlisle – Without his heroic interception in the Baylor game and his team play in the Cotton Bowl, there would not be a National Champion in 1963. Duke also wrote a book called “Longhorns & Tall Tales” sharing with a sense of humor his memories of playing for Coach Royal.
Donna Lopiano is the First women’s A.D. 7 years after Lopiano came to U.T., all the women’s teams finished in the top 10 nationally. In 1982 the Longhorn women were first in swimming and diving, first in track and field, first in volleyball, second in golf, second in basketball, fourth in tennis, and fifth in indoor track.
Jim Bayless is an author and successful lawyer who created the TLSN historical website celebrating 100 years of Longhorn tennis.
Jenna McEachern is a Texas Longhorn media personality, a Longhorn author, an exceptional editor. Jenna was named one of 125 “Extraordinary Exes” during the Ex-Students’ Association’s 125th Anniversary.
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TLSN is an independent organization celebrating Longhorn Sports History and assisting qualifying Horns who need temporary financial assistance.
The TLSN website and newsletter are free, educational, historical, and insightful sharing Longhorn sports history through the eyes of those who created it.
TLSN is not associated with the UT Athletics Department or any organization closely aligned with UT.
Https://texaslsn.org
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