Tom Brown Soccer Camps at
Sam Houston State University
Head Coach Tom Brown
In Tom Brown's first three seasons as head coach at Sam Houston, the women's soccer program has made impressive strides towards becoming a force in the Southland Conference.
Brown became the second head coach in program history on June 18, 2008. That fall, the Kats produced the team's first winning season, going 9-7. Sam Houston set school records for longest winning streak (7), consecutive shutouts (7) and fewest goals allowed (17).
In season two, the team earned its second Southland post-season tournament berth with its highest league finish. In the tournament, Sam Houston knocked off UTSA 3-2 in an overtime thriller before a 2-1 loss to No. 1 seed Texas State in the semifinals.
Last year in Brown's third season, Sam Houston earned another post-season tournament berth and saw Bearkat players earn first team all-conference and Southland post-season special awards for the first time in program history. Sophomore Kirby Zak was a first team All-Southland midfielder while Tricia Mallory was voted as the league's "Freshman of the Year."
During Brown's three seasons as head coach, the Bearkats have set or tied 22 individual or team school records. A veteran of 18 years as a head coach, Brown holds a career mark of 157 victories, 146 losses and eight ties.
Brown and his assistant coach Topper Cogan look to build upon this success as the squad takes on a schedule that challenge the team as well as give them opportunities to prepare for league play.
"Our main goal is to build confidence in the players, but at the same time, we want situations we can use to teach them about what it takes to get to the next level," Brown said. "Our players have demostrated they have the ability to compete at a high level in the league. Now we need to build to the point where we can play at that level constantly."
Previously serving as head coach at Sterling College in Kansas, William Carey College in Mississippi and Angelo State University in San Angelo, Brown produced a 130-118-25 overall record in 15 seasons to rank 23rd among NCAA Division II active head coaches in total victories.
At Sterling, Brown led the women's team to its first ever appearance in the national rankings and was the 1994 Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference Coach of the Year. Before becoming a head coach, Brown served as an assistant coach at the University of Tulsa, Southern Nazarene University (Okla.) and Midwestern State University. At William Carey, Brown's squad earned a No. 2 NAIA national ranking. Brown was named the Gulf Coast Conference Coach of the Year in 1995.
During his 11 seasons at Angelo State, Brown built a solid program from the ground up. In his first two years, he led the team to back-to-back seasons with record win totals. In eight of the last nine seasons the Rambelles were regionally-ranked. The head coach guided the team to six consecutive Lone Star Conference post-season appearances.
Brown's coaching philosophy is simple - keep pressure on the defense and try to create as many scoring opportunities as possible. He uses an aggressive formation with three forwards and likes to push the ball up the field and attack the goal. Because of that, he said the high-energy play also makes for a better fan experience at Pritchett Field.
"Our style of soccer is fun to watch. I hope the community will come out and support this team," Brown said.
At Angelo State, Brown's players excelled both on the field and in the classroom. The Rambelles had a consistent presence on the All-Lone Star Conference teams including the 1997 Player of the Year and 1998 Freshman of the Year. the program also produced its first Academic All-American in 2001 while the 2000 and 2002-06 teams won coveted Team Academic awards from the NSCAA for combined grade point averages of over 3.0.
That academic success has continued at Sam Houston as the soccer squad compiled team grade point averages above 3.0 and earned recognition with NSCAA academic team and individual awards.
Thirty-seven Sam Houston soccer players have earned Southland Conference Commissioner's Academic Honor Roll selection a total of a total of 49 times. Four student-athletes (Amanda Biega, Jenny Pence, Nicole Watkins and Katie Wesneski) have been voted to the Academic All-Southland Conference team.
During the 2011 spring semester the soccer squad produced a program high 3.28 team GPA. Senior goalkeeper Jenny Pence was recognized as Sam Houston's top female scholar student-athlete for the 2010-11 school year. Pence was a three-time Academic All-Southland Conference selection during her Bearkat career and also received ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-Region and NSCAA All-South scholastic recognition.
Brown has served eight years as a member of the Olympic Development Program (ODP) Region III staff. He worked on ODP staffs of Oklahoma, Kansas, Mississippi and North Texas. He holds a United States Soccer Federation (USSF) A license, an English Football Association (FA) B goalkeeper license and is awaiting final testing on the FA A goalkeeper license.
He served as the NSCAA National Rankings Chair for NCAA Division II women's soccer and was a member of the NCAA Soccer Rules Committee.
Brown played soccer at Midwestern State where he led the Indians to three straight appearances in the NAIA National Tournament.
As a professional, Brown played for the Amarillo Challengers and Oklahoma City Warriors of the United States Indoor Soccer League (USISL) and the Tulsa Ambush of the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL). He was named team "Defensive Most Valuable Player" and overall MVP at Amarillo and helped Oklahoma City to the national championship game in 1991. Also an elite-level team handball player, Brown was a member of the 1990 US Olympic Festival South team.
A native of Houston, Brown earned his bachelor's degree from Midwestern State in 1989 and his master's degree in sports management from Tulsa in 1993. He and his wife Kristen have two sons, Tommy and Taylor, and a daughter, Rebecca.
