Hall of Fame
Not often do athletes or coaches get the opportunity to go out on top, but that’s exactly what Steve Vee was able to do in 2011. Shortly after winning his second national championship in women’s tennis, and his fourth overall as a coach at RVC, Steve retired from coaching. That 2011 national championship was the first for any RVC team since the 2004 women’s tennis team, also coached by Vee, and it started an unprecedented run that has seen RVC capture 10 national championships in six years.
As the women’s tennis coach for 12 seasons, Steve won those two national championships in 2004 and 2011, earning NJCAA DIII National Coach of the Year honors both times, and finished with a career dual meet record of 56-45. Steve coached 22 NJCAA All-Americans in women’s tennis, and was inducted into the NJCAA Women’s Tennis Coaches National Hall of Fame in 2005.
As the men’s tennis coach for 34 seasons, Steve won national titles in 2000 and 2002, winning NJCAA DIII National Coach of the Year honors in each of those years. He also coached teams to national runner-up finishes in 2001, 2004, and 2006, and to third place finishes in 1998 and 2007. He finished his remarkable run coaching men’s tennis at RVC with a career dual meet record of 271-137 and coached 35 NJCAA All-Americans in men’s tennis.
Steve was inducted into the NJCAA Men’s Tennis Coaches National Hall of Fame in 2002, and won the Hershel Stephen’s Award for service to NJCAA Men’s Tennis in 2004.
Steve taught in the Life Sciences division at RVC from 1972 to 2001 and served as the Chair of the Life Sciences division from 1982 to 2001. During his tenure, he developed and taught a tropical marine biology course at RVC that involved taking 13 groups of students to various Caribbean marine lab locations. He also took two sabbaticals while teaching at RVC, one in Jamaica teaching marine biology and conducting an ecological survey of a mangrove swamp, and the other in Costa Rica studying tropical rain forests.
In the community, Steve volunteers with Keep Northern Illinois Beautiful, Rockford Park District, Severson Dells Nature Center, and Bethesda Covenant Church. He was also a charter member of the RVC Athletics Booster Club where he continues to serve as a member.
Steve was also a sensational tennis player, excelling as a three-time conference singles champion and first doubles champion in 1969 at Minnesota State University. He was a seven-time Rockford City Tennis Champion and held a USTA ranking as high as #1 in Northern Illinois and #5 in the Midwest for 45 and older singles. Beyond tennis, Steve also won the Greater Rockford Senior Golf championship twice.
“I was fortunate to have a great job at RVC,” says Steve. “I really enjoyed my teaching position, but being able to coach tennis was even better. I love the sport. It involves skill, conditioning, and a lot of strategy. It’s team sport, but also an individual sport. Coaching allowed me to teach those skills and strategies; to really get to know my athletes and perhaps make a difference in their lives. Being inducted into the Hall of Fame is confirmation that I did a good job and made the RVC experience a positive and beneficial time in my athletes’ lives.”
Steve and his wife Joy have three children (Nicholas, Anthony, and Annette) and four grandchildren.
