COACH STEVE WILKINSON
TExt
Gustavian 1971
http://gustavus.edu/profiles/swilkins
PRESENT DAY
Click below to visit the Tennis and Life Camps official page.
Coach Wilkinson is one of the most renowned coaches in the history of college sports. He coached here for 39 years (1971-2009), capturing the MIAC title 36 times. His greatest accomplishments include winning the national title for NCAA Division III twice in 1980 and 1982 along with having the most wins as a college tennis coach with 929 victories. He is known to be physically demanding and to tell his players to always maintain a positive attitude no matter what. The video link below gives a more detailed description of his glorious years at Gustavus Adolphus College. Learning about Coach Wilkinson is an amazing insight on learning about the team.
The videos below are a tribute from some of Coach Wilkinson’s former players after his retirement. They give a more personal and relaxed feel for the man as well as the coach with interviews from Wilkinson himself and former players and employees who truly loved and respected the man. You can learn more from them than almost anyone.
In the summer months, Wilkinson led the Tennis and Life Camps at Gustavus since 1977, when he and his wife Barbara, founded the program. All age groups and skill levels are welcome to learn how to improve on the game and to learn how to be a better person. One of Wilkinson’s goals for this program is to enrich the lives of the campers the same way he tries to with his own players.
Gustavus’ Preident Ohle announced January 27th that since the retirement of coach Wilkinson, the shareholders of the Tennis and Life Camps have gifted the program to the college and that the new head of the program will be Neal Hagberg, one of the leaders of the program. This is yet another act of kindness from Steve Wilkinson who seems like he can never stop giving.
http://news.blog.gustavus.edu/files/2011/01/Barb-and-Steve-Wilkinson.jpg
