Scates grew up in Santa Monica in Los Angeles and attended Westchester High School.

[1] At 6 ft 2, he was tall and athletic, and played both basketball and football in high school.

When he graduated he went to Santa Monica College, majoring in physical education with the goal of coaching football at the high school level.

He played football at Santa Monica College, and was an undersized center on the school's basketball team.

Though a junior with only a couple years of experience, he made the school's volleyball team as a walk on.

Meanwhile, on the beach he earned a AAA rating,[citation needed] often teaming with Bob Mendoza, a San Diego Hall of Champions inductee.

Shoes, socks, and even the entry fees to tournaments were all paid for by Scates and the players.

Scates still competed for the U.S. national team as an outside hitter but missed the cut for the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

In the first sanctioned championship Scates and the Bruins swept Long Beach State University to win the first NCAA title in volleyball.

"[4] Like Wooden, Scates established himself as an innovator, changing a deliberate game to the fast-paced sport it is today.

He is the best in-game tactician there ever was.”[6] Scates left the UCLA Bruins with a career record of 1,239-290, more matches than any collegiate coach.

[7] No other program at UCLA in the last 50 years has won as many national titles as Scates' volleyball teams.

[2] Sometimes referred to as "the other Wizard of Westwood," he won more NCAA titles than John Wooden.

Prominent beach volleyball players that played indoor for Scates include Jim Menges, Sinjin Smith, Randy Stoklos, Ricci Luyties and Karch Kiraly.

Scates lists the 2006 UCLA Bruins as one of his favorites, who began the season 12-12, but closed with a 14-game winning streak.

The 12 losses were the most ever for an NCAA Championship team, and the second most for the Bruins in a single season under Scates.

[8] In retirement, he offered "It is a privilege to coach the fine men that have participated and continue to compete for UCLA volleyball.

I have enjoyed being a continuous member of UCLA volleyball since I walked onto the team as a junior in 1959.

But the number of great players who have played at UCLA and the bond they all have for each other and the university is the greatest contribution he has made to the sport.

His son, David, is a Physical Education and Health and Guidance teacher at Herbert Hoover High School in Glendale, CA.

Scates was part of the Alpha Psi chapter of Phi Kappa Sigma International Fraternity while he matriculated at UCLA.