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Coaching Synopsis
Year at Utah: 2nd
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
Now in his second year as a Utah assistant, Tom Farden's enthusiastic approach and coaching expertise helped a freshman-laden Ute team find its way into the 2011 NCAA Super Six, where the Utes finished fifth.
Farden's event, the uneven bars, was Utah's strongest event in 2011, with the Utes earning a No. 3 regular season ranking on the apparatus. In the Super Six, two Utes placed in the top 10 on bars: Gale Mackie (third) and Stephanie McAllister (seventh).
He also assists with the floor exercise where freshman Nansy Damianova was the 2011 region co-champion.
Farden draws from 14 years of NCAA coaching experience and another nine years 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. Under Farden's tutelage, 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. Farden 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 each of 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).
