Remembering Thom Scher

Thom Scher, our beloved head coach of five years, unexpectedly passed away on December 3rd, 2021. 

In five years, Thom solidified Stanford as one of the most competitive and successful programs in the country. In his inaugural season, he coached us to our first Nationals Top 10 finish and our first All-American Award since 2009. Since then, he coached the program to a Nationals bid every year, and holds numerous SMT coaching records, including most wins.

Throughout his five-year tenure he earned 83 individual and team awards – more than any coach in Stanford’s history – which include 6 All-Americans, 13 All-Nationals, and 19 All-Regionals. He also coached at Trial By Combat, the individual collegiate championships, every year since its inception in 2018. 

Before coaching at Stanford, Thom was a dominant coach in the high school circuit, serving as head coach of Menlo School for 10 years. While at Menlo, Thom won a California State championship, eight San Mateo County championships, five NorCal Invitational championships, and six Providence Cup Invitational championships. He is also the only coach in the country to win Gladiator, the high school individual championships, twice. 

Thom was an activist for everyone in the mock trial community. He volunteered his time to judge countless rounds and sit in tab rooms for high school and college tournaments, even running his own tournament, NorCal, which quickly became one of the most competitive high school tournaments in the nation. Thom also served on AMTA’s Board of Directors, advocating for implicit bias training for judges across the country. He actively strived to create a more equal, safe, and accessible community, and those who remember and cherish his legacy will continue to fight for the vision of mock trial he saw for all of us.

An alum of our program, his decision to return as head coach – and his commitment to us over the past five years – demonstrates his passion for service, compassion for others, and determination for greatness. He won over 250 ballots in his time as our coach, each one of them possible because of his guidance, his mentorship, and his dedication to us all.

Thom is survived by his sisters Carrie Adkins and Laura Romero, their spouses Matt Adkins and Nino Romero, his nephews Jackson and Samuel Adkins, his beloved dog Kermit, and his best friend, Logan Levant.

Donations in honor of Thom can be made to Beyond Type 1 here.