Adventurous, admirable and appreciative are just a few words that could be used to describe Redhawks gymnastics head Coach Tom Farden.

Born and orphaned in Inchon City, South Korea, Farden was adopted by an American family and raised in Dayton, Minn., outside of Minneapolis. Farden received a bachelor’s degree in outdoor recreation from Southeast. He ultimately joined Southeast’s gymnastics team as assistant coach in 1999 and was promoted to his current position, head coach, in summer 2004.

“The first objective of my job is teaching students to break through physical and mental barriers using gymnastics as my vehicle," Tom says. "Then, of course, there are a lot of other duties such as recruiting, budget management, fund raising, community involvement, promotions, NCAA compliance paperwork and scheduling.” 

Coaching gymnastics requires attention to small detail, he said.

“When I am coaching, I am in tune with the smallest movements of my students,” he says. “Gymnastics is an extremely technical sport; there is a small window of opportunity on some skills, and it is missed because of a five degree difference in body shaping.

“Take, for instance, the vault,” Tom says. “If they [gymnasts] are off too many nanoseconds during this event, it can be the difference between success and failure,” he said. “You must be intense and focused to be able to concentrate on this high level.

“As for office work, everything I do has a system,” he says. “I have developed an entire system for recruiting, and it seems to be working.”

Tom’s competitive spirit extends well beyond the gymnastics floor. He has been an avid triathlete for 14 seasons. He has competed in 10 marathons, more than 50 triathlons and more than 100 endurance events, including snowshoe racing.

“This past season [alone], I competed in 12 races,” he says.

“I’m not the best or the worst, but I’ll go out and compete hard every time,” he said.

Besides competing in races, Tom also enjoys white-water kayaking, rock climbing and mountain biking. This likely explains why he and his wife, Christina, like to travel west to states such as Alaska, Colorado, Wyoming, Oregon, Washington and Arizona.

“My wife and I love to hike and camp in the mountains,” he says. “Idaho is our next mountain adventure.”

This summer, the Fardens will be making a special trip to South Korea to pick up their adopted son.

“Adoption has come full circle,” Tom says.

He says his favorite moments at Southeast are the Redhawks gymnastics team’s trip to the NCAA meet in 2006, 2008 and becoming Academic National Champions in 2007 with a team G.P.A. of 3.74.

"Watching my students achieve more than they think they can and building relationships" is very important, Tom says.

He offers students the following advice: “Second choice is not always bad. I was second choice for my parents—their first baby they adopted died before he made the trip. I was second option for Southeast’s head gymnastics coach—the first option didn’t work out. When you know you’re second choice, make sure you prove to them that you really should have been the first.”

He also says "a day without laughter is a day wasted. Don't take yourself too seriously. Failures have defined who I am today, not success, and that vision and focus are two important keys to happiness."

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