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VudhiVadhana retires from coaching position

Weber State University’s Tom VudhiVadhana, assistant coach for the women’s soccer team, has announced that he is retiring from his full-time position with the Wildcats but will remain a part of the program as a part-time volunteer coach.

“I would like to thank Weber State for the opportunities that they have presented me,” VudhiVadhana said. “It has been an honor to be a coach here . . . it has been a great ride. We have had a lot of success over the years, and I have met a lot of good people and made a lot of great friends.

VudhiVadhana has been a part of the Wildcat soccer program since its inception in 1996. When the program begun, he served as co-head coach alongside Lynn Kofoed for eight seasons before moving to assistant coach when Tim Crompton was hired.

As co-head coaches, the duo of VudhiVadhana and Kofoed compiled a 72-68-10 record, three Big Sky regular season championships and one Big Sky post-season championship.

Before being named co-head coach for the varsity program, VudhiVadhana was WSU’s women’s soccer club head coach from 1993 to 1996 and compiled a three-year record of 63-11-1.  In 1993, his club placed third in regionals and went on the next year to win the National Club Soccer Association  title.  In 1995, his club won the regional title and placed third at nationals.

VudhiVadhana played a major role in the early success of the program, creating a seamless transition with a group composed mostly of former WSU club soccer players that produced an impressive 7-7-2 first-year record.

Crompton said that VudhiVadhana has done a lot for WSU, and that he is a major reason the program exists currently.

“Tom VudhiVadhana is the godfather of collegiate soccer here in this community,” Crompton said. “If it wasn’t for him, I don’t know that Weber State would have had a Division I women’s program as soon as it did. Certainly, he was the bridge that gapped the club program to the Division I program.”

Over the next few years, the duo of VudhiVadhana and Kofoed raised the bar for Weber State soccer, creating a program that has found success, and has had success in the Big Sky Conference multiple times. WSU recorded a Big Sky record of 29-15-1 under VudhiVadhana and Kofoed.

In the program’s second season in 1997, the team won nine more games than the previous season and locked up a second place finish at the first-ever Big Sky Championship. One year later they were the conference regular season champions and defeated the defending conference champion the University of Montana Grizzlies in a 2-1 double overtime thriller for the school’s first Big Sky post-season championship.

In 2001, the Wildcats added another regular season title to the coaches’ list of accomplishments, going 6-0-0 in Big Sky play, but were upset in the conference championship game by Idaho State University. In 2003, the Wildcats gave up only a single goal in conference play as they went 4-1-1 and earned another Big Sky regular season title. The team fell in the Big Sky semi-finals 1-0 to Montana State University.

Kofoed and VudhiVadhana were awarded their third Big Sky Conference Coach of the Year award in 2003. The duo also won the honor in back-to-back years in 1997 and 1998.

VudhiVadhana said that the best thing about his time at WSU was seeing the players grow and improve in all aspects of their lives.

“The best part of being involved in the programs at Weber State has been watching all of the girls come through the program,” VudhiVadhana said. “It is because of the kids that we are there, and it has been really fun to see them create great moments on the field and in the classroom.”

 

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