After traveling around the nation and world to play and coach the game he loves, Thom Kaumeyer has returned to Palomar College as head football coach and manager of athletics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kaumeyer, who was a safety for the Palomar College football team in the 1980s, was a professional football player for several years. He went on to coach for pro teams, colleges and universities, and high schools around the country, along with two stints as a coach in Japan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kaumeyer had been serving as vice president of athletics for a high school in Hawaii when he heard that Palomar College Football Coach Joe Early was retiring after a 22-season career. Kaumeyer said he and his wife decided to return to Palomar College, where he is now the 13th<\/sup> head coach in the college\u2019s history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019ve always wanted to give back to Palomar College for giving me the start to my coaching career. I was given great mentoring and guidance from our coaches, Tom Craft, Mark Eldridge, Tony Lynds. Not just as a student athlete but also as a coach,\u201d said Kaumeyer. Kaumeyer returned to professional football playing for the Seattle Seahawks and the New York Giants before he was released in 1993. He came back to Palomar College to serve as an offensive coach, then was promoted to head coach in 1994 when Craft moved to San Diego State University.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After a year as head coach, Kaumeyer spent two years coaching a corporate professional football team in Japan, then returned to Palomar College from 1998 to 2000 to serve as defensive coordinator and special teams coach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He moved on to work on the defensive staff of the Atlanta Falcons, defensive coordinator at San Diego State University and the University of Tulane, four seasons on the Jacksonville Jaguars\u2019 defensive staff, and defensive coordinator at the University of Hawaii. He also had stints at Pasadena City College and returned to Japan to help coach its national football team. He coached at two high schools in Hawaii before returning to Palomar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe are all thrilled to have Coach Kaumeyer back on campus and leading our football program. Thom has had an incredible career as both a player and coach, Athletic Director, Dan Lynds. He went on to say, \u201che is a Comet Athletic Hall of Famer and has a unique gift for motivating and leading young men, inspiring them to be the very best version of themselves. We couldn’t be more pleased\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Kaumeyer said his lifelong love affair with football stems from the feeling of family that the sport engenders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s a great communication arena where you can talk about life lessons, you can also talk about strategy, and you can talk about toughness and discipline,\u201d he said. \u201cI love to compete. I love the game.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kaumeyer said his goals are to have Palomar College reach the state championship and to have as many players as possible transfer to a four-year university. His coaching philosophy focuses on having dialogues with his players.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He noted his faith continues to be instrumental in helping student athletes. We can coach with transparency and a positive mindset no matter what the circumstances are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s easy to be negative and easy to yell,\u201d Kaumeyer said. \u201cWe want them to be able to problem-solve and to be able to think critically.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" After traveling around the nation and world to play and coach the game he loves, Thom Kaumeyer has returned to Palomar College as head football coach and manager of athletics. Kaumeyer, who…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10665,"featured_media":10319,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"categories":[19,9,23,18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10317","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-carousel","category-features","category-home","category-slider"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
When he played for Palomar College, Kaumeyer earned All-American honors before transferring to the University of Oregon, where he earned All-Pac-10 recognition. Kaumeyer was drafted by the Los Angeles Rams, but broke his wrist before the season began. While recovering, he served as a coach at Palomar College under legendary Football Coach Tom Craft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n