Thad Tumbleson grew up playing and loving the game of football. He also grew up with a desire to teach young children in the classroom. Fortunately he was able to combine these two lifelong passions of his, and then some. Today, he is a well-liked teacher of first grade at Wildwood Elementary school in Mahtomedi, MN, as well as a successful football coach.

About 39 years ago, Gerald and Joanne Tumbleson adopted a 3-month old baby from St. Paul and brought him home to their farm in Martin County, Minnesota. They named him Thad, and raised him up like any farm fa mily would – with an emphasis on hard work and respect, both for the land and the people around him.

He grew up in the small town, attending Trimont school, now known as Martin County West, and participated in a myriad of school activities. He was in choir, band, FFA, and was a 5-sport letterman during his 4-year high school career. During these years, Thad developed a healthy appreciation for the area and people he grew up with. Ask him how he liked growing up on a farm today, and he’ll tell you that he wouldn’t have it any other way. The lessons he learned on the farm raising beef cows and growing corn are still his guiding forces - Respect, integrity, and honesty.

After high school, he went to college at the University of South Dakota in Vermillion. At USD he played 4 years of football for a team that was not the most successful. It was this experience, dedicating himself to and playing for a below-.500 team that taught him a thing or two about humility, and he considers himself a better football coach for it today. He also met one of the most influential people in his life in the program, Coach Rudolph, who showed him that a football coach did not have to stick with any one particular style of coaching. Thad, or Coach T as he is better known, emulates this style of coaching today, in which the kids learn not only how to become better football players, but also how to become better people.

Coach T went to college to become an elementary school teacher, and he student taught in Sioux Falls, SD. It was there that he met the woman who became his wife, Amy. After his student teaching, he was quickly offered two different first-grade teaching jobs, one of which was in Mahtomedi, MN. It is a rare situation for a fresh teacher right out of college to be offered two jobs, and he recognized the blessing and after deliberation chose to take the job in Mahtomedi. He couldn’t have been happier with his decision. Smiling, he says of Mahtomedi, “it feels like this is home to me.”

He finished up his Master’s degree at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, while teaching first grade at Wildwood Elementary School. He has a daughter, Tia, and a son, Tavian. His wife Amy is also a first grade teacher, and through this arrangement the two are able to bounce ideas off one another for class projects and situations.

In addition to being a teacher, he also took on the roles of a football and track coach at Mahtomedi High School. He is currently in his 15th year of coaching football, and his 16th year of coaching track. Notably, this is also his 15th year of conducting summer camps for football players ages 5 to 18. The camps are well known throughout the community, and many kids are sent through it in order to make them better players. Coach T’s approach to coaching also means that the kids are able to learn something about themselves and their ability to achieve success.

Coach T thought the next step would be to take the lessons he had learned from his experience with coaching and put out a DVD coaching series, Coach T Tackles Football. The DVD series is a vehicle for him to teach new coaches the ropes while giving seasoned coaches an opportunity to discover new techniques and drills. It allows him to provide other coaches with a tool to make their experiences more fulfilling and effective. More importantly, it also allows him to show and tell other coaches how to coach with a variety of techniques in order to give their players the best possible experience.

Today, Coach T contributes greatly to his community each and every day by providing a caring teaching environment for his classes of youngsters and influencing high-school athletes in their pursuits. He also still conducts the summer camps, which not only bolsters the local football programs but also helps to positively shape the futures of the attendees.

Home | DVD Series | Camps | Store | Order | Newsletter | About | Contact