Tom Pruett
Soccer
There was that time after Tom Pruett, the Huntsville High soccer star, decided to diversify. He had always wanted to be a placekicker on the Panthers’ football team.
“My fondest memory was playing in a soccer game at 5 p.m., then immediately running to the car, changing into my football uniform as my father drove me to Albertville,” he says. “As we arrived, Huntsville scored. I ran straight onto the field, kicked the extra point, kicked off, then went to the bench.”
The moment served as a reminder through his two-decade role in coaching soccer at his alma mater, that “high school athletics is as much about shaping the individual student athlete as it is about winning and losing with dignity,” he says. “Coach (Greg) Patterson and Coach (Oktay) Akbay did something revolutionary for the day and accommodated my personal desire to play more than one sport. I couldn’t be more grateful to these two men for their willingness.”
The pay-it-forward aspect, from the example of Patterson, Akbay and other coaches Mo Khodebandeh, Chris Crump, David Kross and James Young, began as Tom started coaching in the local club and joined the Huntsville High staff in 2009 after having coached the Huntsville girls while in college. He remained on the staff in multiple positions until 2024 when he retired from coaching as the girls varsity coach. In his final season, Huntsville reached the state semifinals.
“The opportunities to influence the lives of my players, the relationship forged, and seeing their successes in life – this is the most meaningful sense of fulfillment,” he says. “Nothing brings me more joy when one of them calls me or sees me in public and I hear the yell ‘Coach Tom!’”
Thomas Alan Pruett was born on April 21, 1968 to John and Bobbi Pruett. His father, the Huntsville sportswriting icon, was in the inaugural class of this Hall of Fame, making them one of more than a dozen father-son Hall tandems.
The oldest of three children, Tom grew up loving sports, roughhousing with siblings Afton and Pat, and surrounded by a loving family. His grandfather, Herman, especially had a lasting impression on him regarding how best to respond to adversity, treating others, and the importance of presenting oneself in a positive manner.
As a varsity soccer player, his teams lost only two matches and his senior year played on the only undefeated team Huntsville men have ever had (1985-86). The most memorable games during his tenure include defeating Grissom at their field as a senior, at Goldsmith Shiffman, then at Joe Davis Stadium for the unofficial “state” title.
Pruett then chose to play for the Alabama A&M Bulldogs. His choice raised more than a few eyebrows as a white youngster signing with an HBCU. However, he considered it his best decision educationally and socially. While soccer drove his decision, he believe God had a bigger purpose in this decision. Being the only American for most of his time on the soccer team, he learned from other cultures represented through the Nigerians, Ethiopians, Ugandans and Caribbean players.
Three moments on the field stood out. In his debut, he saw seven breakaways in a game against North Texas. Then there were the games at UConn, where the rowdy crowd peppered him with Oreo cookies throughout the game. And, finally, during the tensions of apartheid, A&M started 10 Nigerians against nine white South Africans at Memphis State. Pruett threw a punch in the game, but the recipient of the punch drew the penalty.
Following his time at A&M Tom moved to Atlanta in 1991, soon married Sonia Rickard, whom he met at the Mayfair Church of Christ while in college, and they were in Atlanta until a return to Huntsville in 2005. The household includes their five children, Clay, Micah, Laney, Caleb, and Katie Beth.
Professionally he has worked in IT since 1991 at various companies and is currently employed by General Dynamics IT. Tom led or participated in multiple youth mission trips from 1992 to 2020. He is an active member of the Mayfair Church of Christ, a Board member for Childhaven in Cullman, Al, and authored four commentaries covering the Bible.
-- Mark McCarter
