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Coaching Synopsis
Year at Utah: 3rd
2011-present: Utah Assistant Coach
2010: Arkansas Assistant Coach
2004-2009: Southeast Missouri State, Head Coach
1999-2003: Southeast Missouri State, Ass't. Coach
1996-1999: TAGS Gymnastics, Coach
1992-1996: Spectrum Training Center, Owner/Coach
Education
Southeast Missouri State, 2004
Bachelor's Degree
(Outdoor Recreation)
Highlights
NCAA Region Coach of the Year: 2008
Conference Coach of the Year: 2006, '07, '08, '09
Personal
Hometown: Dayton, Minn.
Birth Date: Mar. 28, 1974
Family
Married: Christina
Children: Ki
Entering his third season at Utah, assistant coach Tom Farden has already made a lasting impression on one of the country's most prestigious gymnastics programs through his recruiting and coaching skills. Farden, a dedicated and energetic recruiter, brings the same enthusiasm into the gym, where he serves as Utah's uneven bar coach and assists with the floor exercise routines.
Utah's first Pac-12 Conference champion in any sport came on his event when freshman Georgia Dabritz captured the uneven bar title at the 2012 Pac-12 Gymnastics Championships. Dabritz also won the NCAA Regional bar title, while sophomore Corrie Lothrop earned second-team All-America honors on the bars.
In his first year in Salt Lake City, bars earned the top apparatus ranking for the Utes, finishing at No. 3 in the final regular season rankings. In the 2011 NCAA Super Six team finals, Gael Mackie (third) and Stephanie McAllister (seventh) both placed in the top 10.
Farden's presence has also been felt on the floor exercise where a Ute has won the regional title both of his years on the staff--Nansy Damianova in 2011 and Kyndal Robarts in 2012. Lothrop was a second-team All-American on floor in 2012.
Farden draws from 15 years of NCAA coaching experience and another nine years as a club coach. He spent six years as the head coach at Southeast Missouri State and was named the 2008 NCAA South Central Regional Coach of the Year. After 11 total seasons at SEMO (the first five as an assistant), Farden went to Arkansas as an assistant coach.
The Razorbacks qualified for the 2010 NCAA Championships, finishing 11th, and Farden helped coach NCAA all-around runner-up Casey Jo Magee. Magee and Jaime Pisani became the first Razorbacks to earn first-team All-America honors on the floor exercise.
As the head coach at Southeast Missouri State from 2004-09, Farden compiled a 70-46 record, guided the Redhawks to NCAA Regional appearances in 2006 and 2008, and coached 14 individual regional qualifiers. He was voted the NCAA South Central Regional Coach of the Year in 2008 when SEMO climbed as high as No. 22 in the national polls and qualified for regionals (placing fifth). The Redhawks recorded their most wins in over a decade in 2008, finishing 17-9 overall. In 2009, Farden directed SEMO to a 14-3 record and a Midwest Independent Conference championship. He was a four-time MIC Coach of the Year (2006-09).
Farden's SEMO teams won national academic championships in his last three seasons and his gymnasts earned 70 total scholastic All-America citations. He also fundraised $250,000 for two major gymnastics renovation projects (the locker room and practice facility).
He began his gymnastics coaching career at the club level in his home state of Minnesota. From 1992-96, he was the owner/coach of Spectrum Training Center in Anoka, Minn., and from 1996-99, he worked as the team coach for TAGS Gymnastics in Minneapolis.
Farden has contributed to his sport on an administrative level as well, serving on the Ethics Committee of the National Association of Collegiate Gymnastics Coaches/Women (NACGC/W) since 2006. In addition, he was on the Minnesota USA Gymnastics State Board from 1995-99.
A native of Dayton, Minn., Farden earned his bachelor's degree in outdoor recreation from SEMO in 2004. Farden and his wife, the former Christina Faulkner, have a son Ki (pronounced key).
