university of michigan womens head soccer coach

#UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN WOMENS HEAD SOCCER COACH PLUS#

“I was just coaching both genders, so I was kind of a natural fit.” “I’m lucky as can be, because there’s a 150 people in Joe’s kind of alumni base that could’ve easily done this job too,” Saxton said. Saxton knew he wanted to come back to his alma mater. He was also coach for Flint Central high school’s girls soccer team while at DCC.Ī door opened at MSU when Athletic Director Doug Weaver instituted women’s soccer as a varsity sport. “I was really lucky to get that break basically.” “So I started coaching men’s college soccer at the ripe old age of 23-years-old,” Saxton said. That obviously didn’t happen, but having a teaching degree helped in the long run.īefore coaching under Baum, Saxton took the men’s head coaching job at Delta Community College, after former MSU cross country All-American Crawford “Forddy” Kennedy retired. Saxton’s attraction to artistic side of soccer led him to attend some MSU soccer camps, led to him becoming a Spartan player from 1979-82.Īfter Saxton graduated in 1983, with a bachelor’s degree in social science, he thought would to be a social science teacher and coach high school soccer. “I think there’s a reason it’s called a beautiful game. “I really enjoyed the mastery of the ball and being able to do different things with that,” Saxton said.

He spent a lot of time with just practicing and playing a ball, devoid of real coaching. What Saxton retrieved out of the weekly show was an appreciation for the artistic part of soccer. “I sucked in everything I could,” Saxton said. He always tuned into PBS’s “Soccer Made in Germany”, an hour-long weekly highlight show of soccer ranging from West German teams to international teams in the Union of European Football Associations. And since there wasn’t a stoppage of play, it suited his runner mentality. Saxton was drawn to the game because of the freedom it allows over other sports. “It seemed like it was something I was good at, and in junior high it kind of became who I was.” “I kind of developed an identity with it,” Saxton said. Saxton grew up in Flint, first playing soccer in fourth grade, back in 1969. He cares the most about coaching young players and watching them grow as adults, while teaching them soccer. His players have also been performers in the classroom, coaching 286 Academic All-Big Ten honorees programs incorporation into the Big Ten in 1994.įor Saxton, collecting these accolades doesn’t mean much.

#UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN WOMENS HEAD SOCCER COACH PLUS#

Saxton now holds a career record of 260-222-51, has coached 41 All-Big Ten honorees, plus four NCAA tournament and 12 Big Ten tournament appearances. He played under former men’s soccer coach Joe Baum starting in 1979, then returned as an assistant coach under Baum in 1986. Saxton has been around the Spartan soccer programs for ages. It’s a beautiful campus, our facilities are fantastic and just the relationships I’ve built up over the years. “It’s an absolute dream, greatest place in the world,” Saxton said. None of these motivate Michigan State women’s soccer Coach Tom Saxton, who’s been at his dream job for 27 of the program’s 32 years of existence. Some take a head coaching job for the money, others to promote themselves or wait until their dream job is available. The world of sports offers several types of coaches. Tom Saxton has been involved with MSU women’s soccer for nearly three decades, creating his own unique special team dynamic.ĮAST LANSING, Mich.

University of michigan womens head soccer coach