Tom Byer

Tom Byer (born 21 November 1960) is a former professional soccer player originally from New York but who is now based in Tokyo, Japan as one of the most decorated and admired grassroots soccer coaches in the Asian region.[1][2][3][4]

Tom Byer
Personal information
Full name Thomas Byer
Date of birth (1960-11-21) November 21, 1960
Place of birth New York, United States
Youth career
Rondout Valley Ganders
SUNY Ulster
USF Bulls
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1981 Leiston F.C. 0 (0)
1986–1987 Hitachi
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Early life and career

Tom started his soccer career at Rondout Valley High School where he was named Mid-Hudson Player of the Year and led the team to two league championships. He continued to play soccer at SUNY Ulster while studying for his associate degree in Liberal Arts - Humanities and Social Sciences in 1982. Tom later played for the University of South Florida and was a member of the U.S. Olympic Sports Festival. Upon graduation, Tom trained with the Tampa Bay Rowdies franchise, but the NASL was in decline and the league folded soon after. Tom then undertook a brief stint with Leiston F.C. in England before becoming the first American to play soccer in Asia by signing for Hitachi FC (Currently named Kashiwa Reysol, playing in the J-League)[5]

Youth coaching

Nestlé Soccer Clinic Program / Kix International

In 1989, upon retiring from his professional soccer career, Tom started the Japanese Company, Kix International – an organization focused on youth football training.[6] He would later pitch the idea of a National Clinic Program designed for the U12 Age Group to Nestle Japan. Tom, together with Steve Harris agreed with Nestle to organize 50 events in the first year sponsored by the Milo Brand. Tom would become the face of this highly successful Youth Clinic Program for the 10 years that it ran.

Coerver Coaching Asia

In 1993 Tom introduced the Coerver Coaching Program to an Investor at Fuji Project. He travelled throughout Asia conducting clinics for National Football Federations to help improve and encourage youth development. Throughout his leadership tenure in Coerver Coaching, Tom established more than 60 schools in Japan.

T3

At the end of 2007 Tom left Coerver Coaching Asia, and shortly after he started his own T3 academy. T3 focuses on not just training clinics, but also developing multi media platforms for the delivery of specific programs and curriculums for youth development across the entire Asian region. On July 2012, Football Association of Indonesia announced a partnership with T3 to assist with their bid for the 2017 FIFA Under-17 World Cup.[7] More recently, in August 2012, the Chinese Football Association announced the appointment of Tom Byer as the Head Technical Advisor for the Chinese School Football Program Office and Official CFA Grassroots Ambassador.[8][9] Tom's latest expansion is the opening of T3 Soccer Academy in Indonesia in October 2013.[10][11]

Television and media

For much of his time in Japan, Tom has been featured in a number of high-profile media programs. From 1998, Tom starred in Japan's Number One Children's TV Program, Oha Suta, presenting the "Tomsan's Soccer Technics" Corner on TV Tokyo's morning Show, for 13 years. This coupled with "Tomsan's Soccer Technics" Corner in Japan's number one Manga comic book, CoroCoro Comic, established Tom as the leader in grassroots football. Through these outlets, together with his clinics, Tom has been cited as a major developmental influence by national stars such as Shinji Kagawa, and Aya Miyama.[12]

DVD / VHS

In 1999, Tom appeared in the VHS VIdeo Series, "Tomsan's Soccer Technics, Part 1 and Part 2. This was produced by TV Tokyo, Shopro, JVC. In 2009 and 2010, Tom released "Tomsan's 1v1 Technics" and "Tomsan's Coaching A to Z" DVDs.[13][14]

Awards

Over the past 20 years, Tom has been conducting events in more than 2,000 locations with a total of 500,000 children participating. To culminate his achievement, Adidas honored Tom with the Golden Boot award, which he accepted in France after the World Cup draw of 1998 for his contribution to youth soccer in Asia. Tom remains the only youth coach to have received this prestigious award.[15] In 2012, the AFF football blog named Tom as one of the top 10 influential foreign footballers in Japan.[16]

References
  1. Whyte, Wilson. "Tom-san, the big man in kids' soccer | The Japan Times". Search.japantimes.co.jp. Retrieved 2013-11-17.
  2. "Q. and A.: Tom Byer on Soccer in China". Sinosphere.blogs.nytimes.com. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
  3. "American Tom Byer leads Chinese soccer revolution". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
  4. "Tom Byer: Linking grassroots development with national success". Goal.com. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
  5. Whyte, Wilson. "Tom-san, the big man in kids' soccer". The Japan Times. Retrieved 2013-11-17.
  6. "Asian Cup: Japan Is on the Up". Goal.blogs.nytimes.com. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
  7. "Indonesia Shifts Focus, Targets U-17 World Cup". The Jakarta Globe. 2012-07-18. Retrieved 2013-11-17.
  8. "传授发展之道". Read.sportspress.cn. 2012-08-29. Retrieved 2013-11-17.
  9. "Executive Transactions - SportsBusiness Daily | SportsBusiness Journal | SportsBusiness Daily Global". SportsBusiness Daily. Retrieved 2013-11-17.
  10. "T3 Indonesia". T3 Indonesia. Retrieved 2013-11-17.
  11. "KOMPAS bola - Tom Byer Siap Ciptakan Kagawa versi Indonesia". Bola.kompas.com. 2010-12-20. Retrieved 2013-11-17.
  12. "Success in Japan, New Test in China". The New York Times. Retrieved 2013-11-17.
  13. "ANFA President Launches Tom Byers' DVD On Football Coaching". GoalNepal.com. 2012-04-25. Retrieved 2013-11-17.
  14. "Soccer Coach Tom Byer Faces New Test in China". The New York Times. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
  15. "Interview with Tom Byer: Champion of Japanese youth football". Sportskeeda. 2011-02-12. Retrieved 2013-11-17.
  16. "Top 10 Japanese Foreigners: No.7 – Tom Byer – Asian Football Feast". Asianfootballfeast.com. Retrieved 2013-11-17.
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