Girls soccer: Brian Thomas steps up to become Woodstock head coach

Brian Thomas didn’t have a goal of becoming a head coach one day when he started coaching, but once he got a taste of it at the end of this past spring with Woodstock, Thomas knew he wanted to take that next step in his career.

Thomas filled in for the Blue Streaks for the last two weeks of last season after former coach Matt Warmbier suddenly resigned. After overcoming the whirlwind of suddenly becoming a head coach, Thomas realized he wanted to lead the Blue Streaks.

Woodstock’s administrators agreed that Thomas was a perfect fit and the Woodstock School District 200 approved his hiring as the girls soccer head coach during its June meeting.

“I’m excited to take over, make a couple tweaks,” Thomas said, “and then continue the success we’ve already had.”

Thomas served as a youth recreational soccer coach for a few years before joining the Woodstock staff as an assistant five years ago. During that time, Thomas learned more about the community and became a strong tactician under Warmbier, who led the program the past six seasons.

The Blue Streaks finished 8-11-1 last season and 3-3 in the Kishwaukee River Conference. Woodstock won its playoff opener against Harvard in the playoffs, but then went on to lose to Burlington Central.

Although there were some things he needed to get used to when Thomas took over as the girls program leader at the end of last season, he quickly saw that he could run a program. The Blue Streaks already were familiar with him as an assistant and he had plans for how he could try to build upon the foundation Warmbier had set.

“I think we’ve had good success on the girls side,” Thomas said. “I’d like to win a conference title, that’d be great, and just continue the success. I think we have something good going.”

Woodstock athletic director Al Baker knew Thomas would be a perfect fit for the job when he took over for Warmbier. Thomas’ performance as an interim coach only cemented Baker’s confidence.

“I’m excited to take over, make a couple tweaks, and then continue the success we’ve already had.”

—  Brian Thomas, Woodstock girls soccer coach

Baker appreciated Thomas’ calm approach to coaching and how well he connected with the players. Once Thomas applied for the job, there wasn’t a doubt in Baker’s mind who should get the role.

“He’s reliable, he knows how things work,” Baker said. “I also think he’s got a really good way of communicating with athletes. He’s someone I have a high level of trust in.”

Thomas doesn’t see a big difference in serving as an assistant coach and being a head coach. He worked through some things at the end of the season and knows that if he has a strong relationship with his players that he can lead the Blue Streaks to the level they want to compete.

“The girls and I are going to grow together,” Thomas said. “We’ll ultimately see where success takes us and go from there. I’ll have a very fluid approach in my first year.”

Thomas will start working with his returning players and freshmen during summer camp during the summer and then will get back into during the winter with some open gyms. While Thomas is excited to get the ball rolling, he’s also thankful for some time before the season gets started in the spring.

“I’m super eager,” Thomas said. “I wish my season was ramping up here like the fall season. The wait is good too. It’ll allow me to get things lined out and get a structure set for the season so we can be as successful as we can.”