Saunders was born in the north London suburb of Hendon as part of a sporting family; his great-uncle, Ron Saunders, played soccer for a number of teams in The Football League and later became a manager, winning honours with Norwich City and Aston Villa.
A recipient of AAHPER'S John F. Kennedy Memorial scholarship and California's state graduate fellowship, Saunders earned a master's degree in education from Stanford University in 1970.