Bob Wood: a Tribute 1941 - 2019

Bob Wood: A Tribute 1941 - 2019 You meet only a few people in your ever-so-brief time on earth who are larger than life; the kind of person who commands a room, the kind of person who simply takes charge. This is the guy who sees a need and fills it. He doesn’t just talk; he does. These people are starters. Inertia is not part of their personalities. They don’t just complain that “Somebody should do something about this.” They are, in a word, Leaders. Back in the day, some of the other high school sports both presentation and content. He brought enormous credibility had the advantage of having formed coaches’ associations. to the workshop and by extension, to our fledgling association. Some of these coaches’ groups held workshops. Some had Halls Need more credibility? Coaching at his high school alma of Fame. Others chose all state teams and coaches of the year. mater --- as a player he won the state championship --- Bob’s These organizations were able to speak with a unified voice to teams captured 39 state titles. Not content with simply win- the Michigan High School Athletic Associa- ning in his division, he regularly sched- tion officials in Lansing. Before Bob Wood, uled against the best squads in the state if we had a gripe, we were on our own in regardless of class. Although University terms of voicing it. But not after 1977. Liggett was small, his kids competed on an In July of that summer (to be even or superior basis with the best. More precise, 7-7-77), Bob convened a group to the point, he was not much concerned of invited tennis coaches at Bill Oliver’s about records; he simply wanted his boys Lodge next to Houghton Lake. They and girls to gain the best competitive included Saginaw Heritage’s Bob Quinn, experience. East Grand Rapids’ Charlie Partin, Whitte- He certainly got it. Who would not more Prescott’s Chuck Reed (He got Bob’s want to come to Bob Wood’s tourna- daughter up on skis for the first time), ment? Who would not hope that he Harold Holcomb of Essexville Garber, would accept an invitation to theirs? He Chuck Wright of University Liggett, and was one of the first to take his teams all Tiger Teusink of Holland. There were, over the state. Just as valuable, he taught of course, others, some very prominent by example that it didn’t matter what your coaches. Most of them can be found on record was when going to the state seed our Coach of the Year lists and in our Hall meeting. His team actually sometimes -fin of Fame. ished a campaign with a losing dual meet Make no mistake, Bob was the record. As a result, he would encounter moving force and the commanding voice. When E.F. Hutton coaches at the state seed meeting with unblemished records (a.k.a Bob Wood) spoke, everybody stopped everything to listen. who simply couldn’t understand why their kids should be seeded He had an outsized John Wayne-esque personality and the below his. They learned, often the hard way, that what matters is achievements to back it up. Although Charlie Partin was the first level of competition. president followed by Bob Quinn, there was little doubt as to To be sure, he stepped on a few toes along the way. Bob who ran the show. was not afraid to confront and his leadership ensured that our Bob’s first achievement on behalf of all of us was the association would stand strong in terms of what matters. Before hosting – with Gary Bodenmiller -- of an enormously successful the advent of our Claims Committee, coaches had a tendency workshop in Feb. 1977. His keynote speaker was U of M’s Brian to tread lightly with regard, say, to suspicions of stacking. Not Eisner, whose teams had, up to that point, won seven Big Ten Bob. “I had to deal with a notorious year-after-year stacker in my championships (He would win 18 in 30 years). Brian, the coach regional,” says Ed Waits. “I was told throughout one season that of Vic Amaya (He would go 5 sets with Bjorn Borg on the Centre their No. 1 singles player was actually a 3D player. When Bob got Court at Wimbledon, Malivai Washington (Wimbledon finalist) ‘wind’ of this, he called their A.D. and blasted away (“You have and Mike Leach (NCAA singles champion), was terrific in terms of a tennis coach who cheats!”). He had a commanding presence even on the phone and spoke from a position of authority. After his wife on a cruise upon McKenzie’s retirement. all, he was on the Board of Director for the National Interscho- The man had connections. After visiting the National lastic Athletic Administrators Association and in 1978 he was a Tennis Teachers Conference in New York City with Gary Boden- speaker at the National Athletic Directors Conference. The line- miller, the two embarked on a remarkable 40-year mission of up quickly changed.” hosting enormously successful workshops. They featured some “Bob (and Tiger Teusink, who over the years has been of the best clinicians (Vic Braden, Dennis VanderMeer, Peter regarded as the foundation of the MHSTeCA) were also not Burwash, Kirk Anderson, Gundars Tilmanis, Wayne Bryan, and afraid to leave a player off the all-state team because of bad Jorge Capestany), players (Chris Evert, Arthur Ashe, Tim Gullik- behavior,” continues Ed. “Woe betide the parent or coach who son, Pam Shriver, and Jack Kramer), and college coaches (Eisner, called to protest the exclusion. They were talking to an individual University of Wisconsin’s John Powless, and Gene Orlando along who, through his achievements, had an excess of gravitas. with the MSU varsity team). The effort not only afforded invalu- “He didn’t care about circumstances or background. Af- able teaching techniques to tennis coaches (often the best came ter all, he was the athletic director of an exclusive private school from relatively unknown speakers) but gave us an opportunity to that educated privileged kids. The parents of his tennis players gather with colleagues in one venue for fellowship and feedback were, to understate, high profile. Parents and coaches state- just prior to the spring season. What better place to hold a Gen- wide who held their players’ self-esteem and hurt feelings above eral Membership Meeting or fulfill your Rules Meeting obligation ethics and sportsmanship didn’t stand a chance against Bob. with Warren McKenzie, Gina Mazzolini, and Dan Hutcheson? He held the high moral ground with authority. He once berated What better timing for the opportunity to gather around a ban- USTA officials at the U.S. Open for permitting such lousy behavior quet table to honor Hall of Fame inductees and Coaches of the from John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors. ‘Here we are trying to Year? educate the youth of America,’ he protested………………” Those of us who helped out at the clinics knew how ex- One key component of the rapidly-gained influence of acting Bob could be. “He demanded excellence in everything he the MHSTeCA was that Bob developed an unusually cooperative pursued,” says Tiger. “His workshops reflected that.” As evidence, relationship with MHSAA Assistant Director Warren McKenzie, an he would use much of his workshop microphone time pleading invaluable asset in terms of tennis coaching improvement. The for evaluations and then spend each Saturday afternoon after two of them – along with Tiger and Gordon Boettcher -- worked the event going over them with Gary. together to abolish an antiquated system for determining a state As an athletic director who traveled the nation under a team championship, a system that was universally acknowledged variety of auspices, Bob often declared to anyone who would lis- to be a sham. Warren was the positive influence that green- ten that no state had a more effective tennis coaches association lighted the effort, Bob was the promoter (and did some compro- than ours. Given his wide-ranging experience, he knew this first- mising), and Tiger did much of the initial set-up work. The result hand, especially after he left Michigan and briefly coached in two was the institution of an entire team flight format at the final other states. “When we attended national conventions, coaches tournament. The fact that the change came from Bob and Tiger from around the nation were all over us, wanting to know how did much to gain acceptance from coaches throughout the state we got organized and how we operate,” says Tiger who was of such a radical overhaul. Bob’s frequent travel companion and golf partner. “They would The two of them also worked out a better system of ask how we organized the workshop, the final tournaments, the seeding for the state tournaments. In addition to instituting area dual meets, and the efforts to change rules. We were celebri- seeding meetings the day after the regional tournaments, Bob ties.” and Warren-appointed coaches – ---MHSTeCA members in that Not surprisingly, he had an impact nationally. He was our board consisted of the most successful and influential tennis Tennis Chair of the National High School Athletic Coaches Asso- leaders in the state -- would gather at the MHSAA offices in Lan- ciation (1979-1982) and its President (1986-1987). He is not only sing to seed and make the draws. This was brand new, the result in the first class of our Hall of Fame (1986) and in the MHSCA being that there was so much more input from the rank and file Hall of Fame (1990) but is an inductee into two national organi- with regard to the set-up of the state championships.

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