White promoted to full-time assistant coach
Tom White - who has spent nine seasons with the Bruins as a player, manager, or coach - has been made a full-time assistant
BELLEVUE, Neb. -- Bellevue University men's soccer coach Mark Heath-Preston announced today the promotion of assistant coach Tom White. White, who has been with the Bruins in some capacity for all but one year since 2006, fills the vacated role of full-time assistant coach. Heath-Preston had been the full-time assistant but took over head coach duties in March when former coach Matt Briggs took a position with FC Kansas City.
During his playing days (2006, 2008-10), White led the Bruins to a 56-20-3 record and a total of seven conference championships between the regular-season and post-season. Bellevue didn't lose a conference game during seasons in which White played. During his sophomore and junior seasons White helped the Bruins to their first two NAIA National Tournament Appearances, including their first-ever run to the final site in 2009. He was a four-time all-MCAC selection, earning first team honors on three occasions (2006, 2009, 2010) and second team accolades in 2008.
Following his playing career, White joined the Bruin staff as the team manager, a position he held from 2012 until being promoted to an assistant coach role last season. In his previous four seasons on the BU staff, the Bruins have posted a 46-24-7 mark (17-2-1 conference record) and won five conference championships. Bellevue has won the conference regular-season title in each of the last two seasons and conference tournament titles in each of the last three years. Bellevue has reached the NAIA National Tournament three seasons in a row and advanced to the final site in both 2014 and 2015.
White primarily served as the goalkeeper's coach last season and Bruin goalkeepers posted a 1.00 goals against average last season, saved 77.7 percent of the shots they faced, and combined on eight clean sheets. He'll add additional recruiting and the overseeing of academic progress to his responsibilities this year.
In each of the last two offseasons White was also the head coach at Bellevue West High School but has since stepped down to focus on the Bruins. He has also served as an assistant at Westside High School where he helped direct the team to the 2012 Class A Championship Game.
White also has coaching experience for the Olympic Development Program and at Bellevue Soccer Club. He owns a United States Soccer Federation (USSF) "C" coaching license.
A native of Norfolk, England he graduated from BU with a bachelor's degree in health and human performance in 2011 and added a master's degree in human services in 2015.