Braves soccer coach resigns after 14 years

Winning was never the only goal for Tom McFarlane's soccer teams, but success was. And he measured success by fitness, tactical awareness, skill and class, not just notches in the "W" column.

A testament to McFarlane's resounding success over the last 14 years was his ability to take a brand new soccer program many saw as the dredges of sport and turn it into a first-class state powerhouse.

But after posting a record of 149-41-17, winning four state championships, placing second three times, winning seven Western Division championships and being named National High School Athletic Association Region 7 Coach of the Year twice, McFarlane is stepping down as the Braves head soccer coach.

"I'm not tired or worn out or sick of it," he said. "Now is just a good time. I've accomplished my goals with the program, and it's in good shape."

Of course, with Kalispell's high school set to split in the fall of 2007, people wonder if he isn't riding this year's state championship into the sunset before the talent pool is cut in half.

"The talk about the split has been a big topic," he said. "But that's not why. Everyone said we wouldn't be any good when we went to AA, too. The team will still be competitive even though I'm not there. I think people need to get past that."

He will also have extra time to spend with his wife, Mary, who had to give up her husband every season.

McFarlane has been the Braves' one and only head soccer coach. He was hired the first year the program started in 1992. A few of Montana's high schools had been competing in soccer for just three years.

When the job hunt began for Flathead's first soccer coach, McFarlane called then athletic director Gene Boyle to set up an interview. Even if he didn't get the job, he wanted to put his two cents in about how the program should be run.

"I didn't like some of the coaching tactics I had seen," McFarlane said. "I felt the kids deserved a classy program. They should win by fitness and skill, not dirty play."

Boyle called him back the same day and offered him the job.

"He seemed to have quite a bit of class," Boyle recalled. "Like he was interested in the kids first. It makes you feel good that you hired someone who stayed with it that long. It's been a successful program."

McFarlane was excited about his chance to work with "the cream of the crop" but was also nervous about how he would run a team with high expectations right out of the gate.

"Everyone knew that there would be a lot of talent here," he said. "It was an opportunity to see how I'd do. We've always expected to be in the finals every year. We've always maintained that standard."

The Braves earned their first state title in 1994 against a Missoula Sentinel team coached by the antithesis of what McFarlane considers class.

"They had a nasty team and nasty fans," McFarlane said. "Everything was about intimidation. They had a dead chicken they brought to the game. We beat them in sudden death on their field.

"When time ran out, you'd thought they'd been gut shot. It was so sweet."

Sentinel's coach eventually was deported back to Sri Lanka, and McFarlane won three more state titles.

Getting a soccer program into the high school wasn't an easy process. The youth soccer program was demanding a program and others in the community thought soccer would just be a drain for the other sports at Flathead. The fact that the season coincided with football didn't help either.

The Braves soccer program had a tense start, something McFarlane worked hard to overcome.

"I wanted to build compromise and to have the school see it as a real sport," he said. "Having a successful program also gets some respect."

The rise of soccer at Flathead isn't on his stat sheet, but it may be his biggest accomplishment.

Winning the state title in Kalispell in 1998 helped to seal the deal with school officials and the community. A big home crowd turned out to watch the Braves win it all for the third time. Soccer had officially arrived.

"He was willing to work with the school since it was a new program," Boyle said. "He didn't isolate it. He made it a Flathead High program, a black-and-orange program.

"I thought he was a gentleman throughout, win or lose. He was a good representative for Flathead High."

McFarlane, 57, grew up in Alton, Illinois as a dyed-in-the-wool football guy. Both of his brothers played at Notre Dame, and he thought he was on the same path.

But after serving in Vietnam as an Army nurse, McFarlane ended up at X-ray school at the University of Montana. His previous experiences with coaching soccer left him with the desire to stick with the sport.

"I wanted to do soccer wherever I ended up," he said. "It was fun and is a sport that any kid could play. You get a good variety of kids."

The ability to teach students how to play soccer and influence them in positive ways has been a fulfilling experience for him throughout 32 years of involvement with soccer.

"It's hard to be pessimistic around kids," he said. "They are an anecdote for pessimism."

McFarlane's approach to dealing with high school students has become more relaxed over the years, but his high standards for the program have never wavered.

"I don't preach morals so much as I point things out as we go," he said. "Things like squealing tires at practice or behaving in restaurants. Just doing the right thing is my general philosophy. But they're kids. You can't expect them to be adults all at once."

After he graduated from college, McFarlane spent a year working in Spokane before moving to Kalispell to work at the hospital. He now works in conjunction with FVCC as the clinical instructor for the radiological tech program.

In spite of his resignation, McFarlane will still be a presence at the soccer fields. He will still coach select soccer in the spring - his girls team has won state the last three years.

"I'm sure I'll be wishing I was in the thick of things," he said of next fall. "But I'll still coach select and ref some games. They're not going to get rid of me yet."