Endorsements for Anatomy of a Champion

"Dick's extraordinary success in developing great players, supporting their academic endeavors, and forging great teams is unsurpassed in NCAA tennis history.  His book gives insights into his holistic approach — we can all learn — whatever our profession — from this outstanding coach and exceptional man."
—Condoleezza Rice
Provost, Stanford University (1993-1999)
Secretary of State (2005-2009)
Director, Hoover Institution

"Most books on leadership are written by highly successful leaders who have taken their own experiences, converted them into a set of principles that guided their behavior, and recommended them to the reader.  Dick Gould, the most successful men’s tennis coach in NCAA history, has turned this formula upside down. Instead of building a guiding framework of leadership relying on his own experiences, he synthesized the views of 166 players he coached over 38 years of leading the Stanford tennis program and created a powerful picture of what it took to build and guide an enduring, high performing organization. Loaded with lots of direct quotes from his players, Gould presents so many pearls of wisdom in this book that I highly recommend it as an excellent resource for anyone interested in leadership – from parents to coaches to those aspiring for leadership positions in any enterprise and at any level."
—Jerry Porras
Lane Professor of Organizational Behavior and Change, Emeritus
Graduate School of Business, Stanford University
Co-Author, Built to Last
Faculty Athletics Representative to the PAC-10 and the NCAA (1988-2001)

"Although I wasn’t privileged to know Coach Gould as a tennis coach, I have been honored to collaborate with him on his visionary youth concussion education work with TeachAids.  Dick is passionate, purposeful, full of humor and grace, and cares deeply about our youth.  Dick reminds us that first and foremost, a coach is an educator who cares. This critical trait reverberates from his player’s comments throughout Anatomy of a Champion."
—Brian Hainline, MD, NCAA Chief Medical Officer
Clinical Professor of Neurology, NYU Grossman School of Medicine

"Anatomy of a Champion is a fantastic book! I appreciate the "reverse engineering" format of asking the players to provide much of the content, followed by Dick’s insightful coaching interpretation and contextualization of their comments. It very much feels like an on-going discussion (fireside chat) throughout the decades. Masterfully done! The balance of the conceptual- and also sometimes chronological approach keeps the reader engaged throughout. As a pure tennis coach, player or fan, this is a must read. However, I wholeheartedly believe that this book also provides great information for business leaders, educators and sports administrators who will derive tremendous benefits from reading this book."
—Paul Roetert
Managing Director
USTA-U; National Campus

FORMER PLAYERS

"When you joined the team, you automatically felt like you were there to do your job and that was to help win an NCAA Championship. Coach magnified this sense of pride and purpose each and every day. Coach Gould had an aura that demanded respect, and he had all the attributes that made it easy for players to put their faith in him. He was always prepared and knew what to say. You could see that he cared deeply about his role and was extremely driven to succeed. You could see that he knew the formula of what it took to be a championship team, so there was no reason to resist it. There was never doubt in his eyes, and he always confidently executed his plan. It was nice to be able to trust that this man could guide the team and in turn help every member reach his full potential."
—Mike Bryan ’00
Pro: All-Time World Doubles # 1 
NCAA Doubles Champ

"It is critical to understand that the results that Dick Gould had are truly the byproduct of his personal greatness. His pursuit of constant and relentless improvement. His pursuit of fulfilling and executing the value systems of work ethic, attention to detail, perseverance, determination, a willingness to take chances to do and be special, never letting his competitors see him down or discouraged, his amazing recruiting skills and optimism. If I were to summarize it all up, it would be that Dick had and has a profound understanding that life is about the journey and for God sakes make the most of it! This is the profound example that Dick Gould has passed on to me. Dick's example has been so relentless and consistent that it has left an indelible impression on me in my life. Life is a journey, a blessing, an opportunity, so don't waste today and make the most of it! The results are truly the byproducts of an incredibly powerful and positive philosophy of life! That is the true legacy."
—Nick Saviano ’73
Pro: Singles #48; 
Former USTA Director of Coaching & Coaching Education

"We just watched in awe each day how Coach worked to transform Stanford tennis in that tiny wood shack. It was nothing more than a 
woodshed, but with DG inside it was like the “temple of college tennis.” You walked inside the place and his unbridled enthusiasm was infectious. You just knew that being around this guy was going to be worth the ride. And oh, what a great ride it was!"
—John Corse ’82
Stanford Tennis Star