Allison Thoms: Mother, Mentor & Coach who shows YOU can do it ALL!

Allison Thoms, coach of several Rumson sports and event organizer is more than just a leader, she is a mentor. She is dedicated to keeping kids active and allowing them to explore their passions.

Thoms has always loved sports and she pursued basketball at Stockton University, where she finished as team captain. But it wasn’t only her love for the game that inspired her to coach, it was the motivation and support that two of her coaches, Doug Daubert and Lou Piccola, provided to the extent that she is still in touch with them today! Thoms explains that “Coaches can have a lifelong impact on the youth and I inspire to have the same for my players.”

Thoms has two sons, Nicholas and Noah who have “Inspired me to coach both on a recreation level as well as the travel level.” She enjoys both the serious and fun aspects of each level of competition.

She began her role as a mentor by volunteering to coach her sons. With the previous experience of playing varsity soccer and basketball for 4 years, it came naturally. Both her and her kids were able to develop friendships and build relationships with their peers. She recognizes and prioritizes the fact that recreational sports are supposed to be fun, build a foundation of skills, and create long-lasting memories. Over time, she realized that this was her passion and she is able to teach young athletes to do remarkable things while learning valuable life lessons.

Her favorite part of coaching is “A-HA moments”. An example she gave is “Teaching the boys in a 30-second timeout what a triangle and two defense is” and then “Them executing it, and taking home the win.” She explains that watching them grow is important and no matter if she is coaching recreation or travel, she makes sure her players “know what it means to be respectful to their peers or opponents… win OR lose.”

Her favorite experience so far has been coaching her son Nicholas’s Travel Basketball Team to take on the challenge of Covid and excel. The advice she’d give to any child who would like to play at a higher level is to work hard, put the time in, and have humility.

She teaches people they can do it all and accomplish their dreams just as she works a full-time job and is also able to coach. She is a true inspiration to the Rumson community as it was very kind of her to answer our questions about her career, role, and future plans. As her boys grow older, she plans to continue coaching them and once they head off to college, possibly keep coaching at a higher level.