A native of New York City, Tom came west and earned his college degree in Missouri. His first exposure to wrestling came as a 19-year old college student. The experience and the strategy of the sport were infectious. Following college graduation he was hired as a science teacher and coach at Norwalk and he never left the district. He started the Warriors' program in 1966. He remained the head coach through 1981. In those 15 years his teams won 10 conference titles and 40 of the 60 invitationals in which they competed. His career dual mark was 114-26 for an 81.4 winning percentage. He teams won 10 conference titles, six sectional and two district champions. Norwalk crowned 50 individual conference champions in that time span. In 1971 and 1974 his team fished fourth in the State Tournament and added a seventh place finish in 1972. He coached 20 state qualifiers of which six were place winners and two were state champions - Marty Bussanmas and Mike McAninch, both in 1974. He was an assistant coach from 1982-2010, assisting his son Shannon from 2000-2005. He became an elementary principal in Norwalk in 1981 and served in that capacity until 2005 when he retired. Dedicated to the Norwalk District he then took over as the Grounds Director, a position he still holds. Due to his exemplary commitment to the Norwalk Wrestling Program, the school each year honors a senior with the Tom McLaughlin Award of Courage. The award honors the wrestler that shows the most improvement through-out his career. Tom and his wife Stephanie have raised four children.