ShowsTom Saxton
Head Coach Women's Soccer, Michigan State University March 11, 2020 It’s impossible to think of Flint soccer without thinking of Tom Saxton. He’s one of the original mentors of thousands of Flint players going back 45 years. He started out by offering clinics in area elementary schools when he was a still a kid himself, and it grew from there.
Along the way, he was the driving force behind the renaissance in Flint soccer, as the sport grew from a sideline to a main event. By the 1980s, Saxton’s coaching skills were legendary, and he started putting together CANUSA teams that could whip the Canadiens at their own game. In fact he was the coach of the very first Flint team to beat the boys Canadien All Star team with his own Flint All Stars, a 1-0 victory in the 10 and under division at Flint’s historic Atwood Stadium, in the Bicentennial year of 1976. His career continued to expand and led him to his own success as a three year starter for Michigan State’s soccer team. From there he parlayed his love of coaching fostered on the fields of Flint with his tremendous wealth of playing experience, and in 1986 he joined the MSU coaching staff to work with legendary Spartan coach Joe Baum and both the men’s and women’s programs. In 1991, Tom was appointed as only the second coach in the history of the women’s soccer program, and he’s been there ever since. Before this he had been the mens coach at Delta College, and the women’s coach at Flint Central while also directing the Flint Community Schools Soccer League for four years. Among his many accolades, he has been named the Big Ten Conference Coach Of The Year twice. But Tom is more proud of his players results, which have included an astounding 331 Academic All Big Ten honorees. Right now he’s working on the revitalization of the Mott Park area, raising his three sons with his wife Sue, and doing what he’s always done best, helping others be the very best they can be. All in all, a helluva resume and one of the truly legendary Flint athletic and community leaders, and a fine addition to the Flint Chronicles pantheon! |
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