Coach Interview: Mark Tompkins

Mark ‘’The goat’’ Tompkins was born on November 26, 1964 in New York. Mark grew up in East Hampton and lived in Philadelphia and Miami after his college graduation. Later on, he came back to East Hampton in 1999. Mr.Tompkins attended Williams College as a member of the class of 1987. His hobbies are: surfing, sailing, swimming, snowboarding and many other outdoor sports. Also, Mark played a lot of sports in college, such as intramural ice hockey, varsity wrestling, and rugby (captain ‘86- ‘87).His major in college was political science. He decided to coach due to his good experience with sports. For most of his coaching career , his main focus has been on middle school. More specifically, he has coached wrestling, football, lacrosse, surfing, and sailing. Right now, Mark is coaching surfing at Ross School. However, surfing is not a varsity sport and there are no tournaments or meets where the athletes can compete. Sports have been a very important part of his life and he was inspired to coach. ‘’It was what all my friends did and I guess I never thought not to play. I liked competing and being part of a team’’, said Mark. The reason why he decided to coach is because he remembered how good his coach was and how helpful he was for him. Mark thinks that he coaches like a teacher and teaches like a coach. The most difficult part in coaching for Mark is when it feels like he has made some strategic error in a game situation. The most important accomplishment for him as a coach was ‘’the accumulation of small bits of positive advice and encouragement over the last 30 years’’, said Mark. Mark is also improving as a coach every year by sticking to the basics, having a positive energy, and being a teacher first.