Making stops at two MAC schools – Akron and Kent State – before coming to NIU, men’s golf head coach Tom Porten looks to make the Huskies his home as he hopes to put the program on the map.

An Ohio native, Porten so far has enjoyed his time in DeKalb thanks to the kindness and pointers about the area and campus from the women’s golf head coach, Pam Tyska.
Porten took time to answer a few questions about coaching in the MAC, his involvement with community services and how the DeKalb area has treated him so far with the Northern Star.

Northern Star: What has always attracted you to coaching in the MAC?

Tom Porten: Coaching has always been something. Even as a player I always wanted to help my teammates, working around some very good coaches that I’ve played for in both high school and college and that’s always appealed to me.

Coaching in the MAC, I guess because I’m familiar with the Mid-American Conference and the Midwestern schools. Having coached at two of them, the opportunity and familiarity with the conference was appealing as the opportunity to coach here at NIU came up in August. It’s a great golf conference overall.

NS: What is the most rewarding aspect of coaching for yourself?

TP: Being able to help young men and women by changing their lives for the better as you hopefully coach them and make them a better player. There’s also the opportunity to leave a little imprint on the life, and that is usually the most rewarding part of coaching.

NS: You have been very involved with community service efforts in your life. What has motivated you to put time into these programs?

TP: Well I think it’s very important for whatever school that I’ve been at, to be apart of the community. What better way to help create relationships within the community to help people who are struggling or who can’t help themselves.

We did a charity at Akron that helped the local children hospital. Just spending time with kids and developing that relationship is important for the kids because they give a little bit of themselves and that helps shape their world and certainty makes them feel better about themselves.

Hopefully they want to do more of that as they go through their lives and get involved in charities and community services in wherever they end up living.

NS: How has women’s golf head coach Pam Tyska helped you so far in your first year at NIU?

TP: She’s been terrific and very welcoming. In my first weekend here, she had all the staff organized and ready to go, and all I had to do was show up and she handed me a NIU T-shirt.

Organizationally, she put a lot of things in place for the all the new kids that came into the men’s program, and she got to know them before I did.

She’s been great with helping me learn the area and where to go as we hopefully bring my family from the Cleveland area to DeKalb in the next several months. She’s really gone above and beyond and I owe her a lot

NS: How have you and your family enjoyed the DeKalb area so far?

TP: Well it’s just me right now. My wife came in a couple weeks ago, but she’s a teacher back in Ohio.

My eight–year–old is in elementary school, my 15–year–old is playing high school golf and my son is a college freshman.

It’s a very similar community to where we lived before, and I’ve found everyone very welcoming.

I’ve taken it upon myself to try at least five or six of the pizza places in my first six months here and they have been all very good. I’m looking forward to finding a home here and making the move permanent here in the next several months.

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