Tom Farden
| Sport(s) | Artistic gymnastics |
|---|---|
| Current position | |
| Title | Co-Head Coach |
| Team | Utah Red Rocks |
| Conference | Pac-12 Conference |
| Biographical details | |
| Born |
28 March 1974 Incheon, South Korea |
| Alma mater | Southeast Missouri State University |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 2003 - 2009 | SE Missouri |
| 2009 - 2015 | University of Utah Assistant Coach |
| 2015 - present | University of Utah co-Head Coach |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Awards | |
|
NCAA South Central Region Coach of the Year (2008) Conference Coach of the Year 2006, '07, '08 & '09 Pac-12 Coach of the Year 2015 |
|
NCAA South Central Region Coach of the Year (2008)
Conference Coach of the Year 2006, '07, '08 & '09
Thomas "Tom" Farden (born Man-Ki Park; March 28, 1974) is an American college gymnastics coach. A native of Dayton, Minnesota, he began his career as the assistant coach of his alma mater the Southeast Missouri Redhawks women's program in 1999 until his promotion to head coach in 2003. After his departure in 2009, Farden briefly served as an assistant coach at the Arkansas Razorbacks for the 2010 season. However, in 2011, Farden became an assistant coach for the Utah Red Rocks team; a position he held until 2015 when, following the retirement of long-time leader Greg Marsden, he was made the co-head coach with Megan Marsden.
At the age of six, in 1980, Farden commenced gymnastics training – he participated as a competitor from the ages of 6 to 18, insisting he was never a good gymnast. However, in 1992, following graduation from Anoka High School, Farden started Spectrum Gymnastics in Anoka, Minnesota with Bill Corcoran and Bart Roskoski. However, the gym closed in 1996; he then started coaching at TAGS Gymnastics in Eden Prairie, Minnesota.
In 1999, SEMO women's gymnastics head coach Patty Stotzheim asked Farden whether he'd want to work as her assistant; he took the job for a salary of $15,000. With the Redhawks program, he was a four-year assistant coach until, in May 2003, Farden was named the head coach of the Redhawks after Stotzheim left to attend law school. In his first season, the Redhawks finished fourth at the MIC Championships. In addition, Tara Boldt and Katie Bloom advanced to the NCAA Regionals in Lincoln, Nebraska and the team would finish ranked 46th.
Farden's Redhawks finished third at the 2006 MIC Championships and, unlike the previous season, garnered a team NCAA Regional birth, finishing the year at #35. The 2007 season didn't see the Redhawks earn a Regional birth either, despite the team's third-place finish at MIC Championships in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. The 2008 season, which would be Farden's penultimate at SEMO, was one of the best for Farden; the team finished second at the MIC Championships, and the team finished 5th at the South Central Regional (ahead of PAC 10 team ASU) and 30th Nationally. As a result, Farden was awarded NCAA Region Coach of the Year. Farden's final season in 2009 was another successful one under his reign; the program won the MIC Conference Championships and, consequently, the team did not qualify to regionals, finishing the year ranked 37th. From 2006 to 2009, Farden was awarded MIC Conference Coach of the Year.
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