Q&A profile with Linn-Marr girls basketball coach Chad Tompkins
MARION, Iowa — A Q&A with Chad Tompkins who is the head girls’ basketball coach at Linn-Marr High School.
How long have you been coaching?
Chad Tompkins: I have been coaching basketball for 19 years, the last eight years at Linn-Mar. This is my third full year as the head Varsity coach.
What is your background in this sport?
Tompkins: I played basketball at Solon High School for four years, lettering three of those years. I started coaching freshman girls’ basketball at Cedar Rapids Jefferson in 2004. I spent two years as the freshman head coach and then was a Varsity assistant for six years. After that I coached boys’ basketball at Jefferson for three years, two of those as a Varsity assistant and one as the head sophomore coach. I came to Linn-Mar in 2015, where I started as the sophomore girl’s head coach. I then coached on the boy’s staff for half a year before becoming the head Varsity girls’ coach.
What are one or two things that the team does in training that are keys to their success?
Tompkins: In our off-season workouts, we spend a lot of time focusing on the fundamentals. While it is not always the most exciting part for the girls, to be able to run our offense effectively they must be great at the fundamentals. We also spend a lot of time talking about both individual on the ball and team defense.
Please describe the most memorable games/tournaments/championships your team has won.
Tompkins: Our Varsity team has already had two big victories this season. On December 9th, we beat #1 ranked in 4A Cedar Rapids Xavier 57 to 45. This last Friday, December 16th, we also beat Iowa City West 49 to 39, who was ranked #6 in class 5A. It was the first loss for both of those teams.
How do you encourage the team after a disappointing loss?
Tompkins: The high school basketball season is long, one of the longest seasons in high school sports. Throughout the season there are many high and lows, my message to the team is that we must not get too high or too low with wins or losses. I keep reminding them that our goal is to be playing our best team basketball at the end of the year and there are nights where we will not play our best. Our job is to get back into the gym the following day and work on things we know we need to improve on.
Describe your proudest coaching moment.
Tompkins: Last year we had a lot of early season success, it surprised many people outside of the program. We ran into a stretch in the middle of January though were we lost three games in a row and were not playing very well. The team had gotten away from what made them so successful early in the season, playing together. I was trying to figure out how to best convey this message to our team to help turn around the season. On the night of our next game, I walked into the locker room and instead of wearing our usual shooting shirts, everyone on the team had on their shirts the seniors had helped design at the start of the season. It read Linn-Mar Basketball BETTER TOGETHER, the theme the seniors had picked for the year. It was great to see the girls realize what they needed to do to get us back to our winning ways, especially without the help of the coaching staff. That night we started a new winning streak, and the girls wore the shirts instead of their shooting shirts for the rest of the year. It was written on the team board prior to every game, and we truly were BETTER TOGETHER for the rest of the season. We came within one game of making it to the state tournament, with a team that most in the area thought would be lucky to finish with a winning record.
What is the biggest life lesson you’ve learned from being a coach?
Tompkins: As a coach of both basketball and football, for me it is all about the relationships. Relationships with both players and coaches. I have a deep love for both sports that I coach and enjoy passing my love onto others, but if I did not enjoy the players I coached and the coaches I coach with, I could not do it for as long as I have. Those relationships are what help me continue to do what I do.
What legacy do you hope to leave as a coach?
Tompkins: I would like to be known as someone who cares for their players both on and off the court/field. Someone who is fair but demanding as well, who pushes their players to be the best they can be. Sometimes players do not know what they are capable of, until a coach pushes them to their best, I hope to be that person for my players.
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