Paul Thomson will enter his third season with UNCG in the 2023-24 season.
Thomson led the Spartans to a 5-17 overall record in the 2022-23 season. The Spartans concluded the 2022-23 season at the SoCon Championship in Chattanooga, Tenn., by taking on No. 1 Furman.
Thomson joins the Spartans after a six-year stint at the University of Alabama-Huntsville.
Thomson is a successful teaching and coaching professional experience with over 15 years of experience in the NCAA college coaching industry, with further experience coaching club, high school and ITF Tour level tennis. He has successful experience in public school classroom management and teaching.
Thomson has extensive experience in group and individual leadership, research, player/student development, communication, marketing, budgeting and team management.
He has also made an impact off the tennis courts with multiple coaching, teaching, life centered success articles published. He has numerous accomplishments as a coach, teaching professional tournament director, public relations and fundraising. Thomson is a published author including multiple articles and a book called “My View – Standing Outside the Lines” published in 2020.
Thomson has developed three All-GSC First Team honorees and four All-GSC Second Team awardees in addition to eight GSC All-Academic Team members at Alabama-Huntsville.
In 2016, the UAH women’s program finished the year with the first-ever regional ranking at No. 8 and first-ever national ranking at No. 29. The women’s squad was also an ITA All-Academic Team during the 2016 campaign.
During the 2015 men’s season, the Chargers reached a national ranking of 44 and garnered their first-ever All-American in Jose Soto while both the UAH men and women reached the GSC tournament.
Thomson came to UAH after spending three seasons as the head women’s coach at NCAA Division I institution Drake from 2010-13. In three seasons, his team compiled a 48-27 record including a single-season program-record 22 wins in 2012. Thomson brought the team from sixth place in the Missouri Valley Conference to three consecutive top three finishes including number two in the conference in 2012.
At Drake, Thomson mentored three First Team MVC members, 4 MVC All select members along with three MVC All-Academic award winners. His 2013 squad captured an All-Academic Team Award from the Intercollegiate Tennis Association. During his tenure at Drake Thomson coached 8 players to 20 or more individual win seasons and one with at least one 30-win individual season. Two of his players finished in the top 10 All Time in singles wins at Drake and 3 in the top 10 all time in doubles wins.
Thomson began his head coaching career with a five-season stint at Brevard College where he led the men’s and women’s teams through the school’s transition from NAIA to NCAA Division II. In 2009, Thomson guided the women’s team to the championship match of the South Atlantic Conference tournament, and he was named the SAC Women’s Coach of the Year and Brevard College Coach of the Year. Across both teams, he coached four First Team All-SAC selections, three Second Team All-SAC selections, and 19 All-SAC Academic Team award recipients. After joining the South Atlantic Conference his teams reach at least the semi-finals of the conference tournament every year. Additionally, he also mentored an ITA Arthur Ashe Sportsmanship Award winner.
A graduate of Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama, he was a graduate assistant with the Bulldogs in 2005 and helped the men go undefeated in Ohio Valley Conference play, capturing the regular season title and advancing to the title match of the conference tournament.
Thomson has spent time coaching at the ITF level touring with Former Thai Davis Cup Members and has worked with the Jamaican Junior Developmental Program. Coach Thomson is a contributing writer for Tennisrecruiting.net and has written articles for Tennis Pro magazine.
A native of Birmingham, Alabama he is a 1995 Graduate of Samford University with a degree in Public Administration. Thomson received his Class B secondary education teaching certification from The University of Alabama Birmingham. Thomson is a certified professional instructor through the Professional Tennis Registry. He was first certified in 2002.
