Szewczyk coached youth through Bloomington United
Tom Szewczyk is the new Jefferson boys soccer coach but is not a new face to the soccer community in Bloomington and beyond.
Szewczyk is a special education teacher at nearby Olson Elementary School. He’s also coached with Bloomington United where he’s worked with current Jefferson high school players since they were 4 and 5 years old.
“I’ve worked with some of those kids since they were U9 (Under-9) without knowing I would be training them once they reached high school,” Szewczyk said.
He also coached the Chanhassen boys program in 2017-18. He also served as the track and field coach with the Storm for 10 years while teaching in the district.
He said he used the opportunity to coach as a way “to get my foot in the door” and gain valuable coaching experience.
Looking back on that 2017 Chanhassen team, “That was one of their best seasons ever,” he said as they went 14-4-1, reaching the Section 2AA final before falling to Prior Lake 3-2 after wins over Eden Prairie and Edina. “Fantastic group of kids and it was fun to see that success payoff with a run to the section final.”
At the time, Szewczyk piloted a technology program that tracked players’ stats during practice and games, which was used as a valuable teaching tool to reinforce coaching strategies or show a player how much they are working on the field. In 2017, the devices cost about $12,000 plus another $2,000-3,000 for another two years. The software tracks calories burned, speed, miles run, a heat map of the field, and more.
“We did a lot of fundraising for that six years ago now,” Szewczyk said.
Szewczyk said a turning point in that season came after an early-season 3-2 loss to Benilde-St. Margaret’s. “It was a game I felt we should’ve won but it was incredibly hot and we were talking that night about it. The effort wasn’t there like normal so we pulled up the numbers and everything was 20 percent lower which meant it could be fatigue that played a big role in that effort.
“But after that game, we didn’t lose again until the section final (13 games).”
He left after the 2018 season after he took an administrative role in Inver Grove Heights, which cut his availability.
When interviewing for the role at Jefferson, Szewczyk made sure to convey the idea of making high school soccer a fun experience. “Kids in high school have a lot going on in their lives, especially for the seniors with so much around the last hurrah. I want the emphasis on team building with the whole program, community service, mentoring the younger teams and making something to remember 20 years from now. You will not remember the scores but you will remember those memories you helped create.”
Szewczyk, a Connecticut native, stepped into the interim director of coaching role last winter with Bloomington United but stepped down once the next director of coaching was hired in the spring. “I’m still helping them out as much as I can,” he said.
Following a legend
Szewczyk will take over the program after longtime coach Danny Storlien stepped down last fall after a four-win campaign that ended in a 2-1 Section 3AAA semifinal loss at his alma mater, Park Cottage Grove in mid-October.
Storlien took over the Jefferson program in 1996 and will continue to teach at the school while focusing on his leadership role with Minnesota Thunder Academy as the girl’s director.
He was part of seven of the program’s 13 state tournament runs including the 2004 state title and runner-up in 2000 and last state appearance in 2012.
A five-time MSHSL boys soccer state Coach of the Year award recipient, Storlein holds a USSF A License and was an assistant coach with the Minnesota Thunder and head coach of the women’s program Minnesota Lightning.
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