Samantha Thomsit is entering her fourth season as assistant coach on the Jaguar coaching staff.
Thomsit continued her assistance in player development, starting with the goalkeepers in the beginning of the 2020 season moving into field player supervision with the arrival of Kavi Luchowa. Thomsit oversaw Morgan White adjust to multiple positions, as well as multiple players shifting position during match play with the left and right backs swapping sides, wings swapping sides and shifting formations from 4-1-4-1 to 3-4-3 depending on situation.
Thomsit has been essential in player development at South while fostering player growth in individual technical training sessions. This has led to preparing players for success at the collegiate level with eight players winning seasonal honors, 26 placements as all-conference selections and with additional weekly awards for offensive and defensive player of the week.
The coaching staff shared responsibility for the conversion of Tabea Griss from midfield to central defender during the 2019 season. Thomsit specifically trained with the Gaienhofen, Germany, native to improve multiple aspects and intricacies with technical training to ease the transition between the roles.
The individual player development is difficult to directly attribute to aspects of individual games, but over the season South maintained a 0.40 goals against average in league play while keeping clean sheets in eight of 10 conference matches. The club added two more shut outs in the postseason conference tournament, while holding opponents scoreless for 222 minutes as the only goal scored against the Jaguars went in just before halftime in the tournament finals.
Thomsit, who spent the previous three years at Burlingame Soccer Club as the U17 and U10 women’s soccer head coach, had reunited with Moodie, who coached her at Carson-Newman in 2012.
The South Alabama defense was one of the league’s best during the 2018 conference season as the Jags permitted just six goals in 10 games to rank second in the league in goals allowed and goals against average (0.57).
In her three years at BSC, Thomsit also served as the United States Development Academy Travel Coordinator in addition to her head coaching duties. She coordinated all travel for USDA tournaments, directed the Path to College Program, and coordinated girls’ camps, among other duties.
Thomsit also spent a year at Saint Cecilia’s Private Catholic School as a K-8 physical education teacher, and worked the summer of 2015 at the Headfirst Atlanta Braves Camp, where her responsibilities included stadium tours and organizing player meet-and-greets.
In 2014, she joined the staff at the JSSL / Arsenal Soccer School in Singapore and managed the U6, U10 and U15 teams.
After graduating from Carson-Newman in 2013 with a degree in physical education, she served as the U18 head coach for Knoxville Soccer Academy and the head coach for Cherokee High School in Rogersville, Tenn.
As a player, Thomsit started 15 times as a freshman on a team that went 20-3-1, won the South Atlantic Conference regular season and tournament championships, and advanced to the quarterfinals in the NCAA Tournament. She suffered a season-ending injury early in her sophomore season, but started all 16 games as a senior and recorded one point.
Thomsit is an FA Level 1 and USSF D licensed coach and has her NSCAA Level 2 Goalkeeping Diploma
