Tairia Flowers facts for kids
Flowers in 2008
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| Current position | |||||||||||||||||
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| Title | Head coach | ||||||||||||||||
| Team | Loyola Marymount | ||||||||||||||||
| Conference | WCC | ||||||||||||||||
| Biographical details | |||||||||||||||||
| Born | January 9, 1981 Tucson, Arizona, U.S. |
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| Playing career | |||||||||||||||||
| 2000–2003 | UCLA | ||||||||||||||||
| 2005 | Arizona Heat | ||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | First base, catcher | ||||||||||||||||
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |||||||||||||||||
| Softball | |||||||||||||||||
| 2006 | UC Riverside (asst.) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2007–2010 | Long Beach State (asst.) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2011–2020 | Cal State Northridge | ||||||||||||||||
| 2021–present | Loyola Marymount | ||||||||||||||||
| National team | |||||||||||||||||
| 2019 | USA Women's Softball (asst.) | ||||||||||||||||
| Head coaching record | |||||||||||||||||
| Overall | 259–263 (.496) | ||||||||||||||||
| Tournaments | NCAA Division I: 0–2 | ||||||||||||||||
| Accomplishments and honors | |||||||||||||||||
| Championships | |||||||||||||||||
As player:
As head coach:
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| Awards | |||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Tairia Mims Flowers (born January 9, 1981) is an amazing American athlete. She was a top softball player in college and for the U.S. Olympic team. Tairia won medals at the Olympic Games and a national championship in college. Today, she is a successful head coach for the Loyola Marymount softball team.
Contents
Tairia Flowers' Early Life and College Journey
Tairia Mims Flowers was born in Tucson, Arizona. She went to Salpointe Catholic High School and then played college softball for the UCLA Bruins. She played as a first baseman and catcher from 2000 to 2003.
College Success at UCLA
Tairia helped UCLA reach the championship game of the 2000 Women's College World Series. She played incredibly well, hitting .600 in that series. UCLA also finished second in the 2001 Women's College World Series. In 2003, her team won the 2003 Women's College World Series national championship!
Tairia was recognized as a top player. In 2003, she was named a first-team NFCA All-American. This means she was one of the best players in college softball. She also earned first-team All-Pac-10 honors in 2003.
Playing for Team USA: Olympic Medals
Tairia Flowers was a key player for the United States women's national softball team. She joined the team in 2001. With Team USA, she won many big competitions.
Gold and Silver at the Olympics
Tairia won a gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. She then won a silver medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. These are huge achievements for any athlete!
Other International Wins
She also helped Team USA win gold at:
- The 2002 Women's Softball World Championship
- The 2003 Pan American Games
- The 2006 World Cup of Softball
- The 2007 Pan American Games
Playing Professional Softball
After college, Tairia played professional softball. In 2005, she played for the Arizona Heat team. This team was part of the National Pro Fastpitch league.
Tairia Flowers' Coaching Career
After her playing days, Tairia became a successful softball coach. She started as an assistant coach.
Assistant Coach Roles
In 2006, she was an assistant coach at UC Riverside. From 2007 to 2010, she was an assistant coach at Long Beach State. During her time there, Long Beach State made it to the NCAA Tournament in 2008 and 2009.
Head Coach at Cal State Northridge
In 2011, Tairia Flowers became the head coach at Cal State Northridge. She led the team for many years. By 2020, her overall coaching record was 259 wins and 263 losses.
Her first winning season was in 2014, with a 31–26 record. In 2015, she led Cal State Northridge to an amazing 41–17 record. They also won their first Big West Conference title that year. This success earned them a spot in the NCAA Tournament. Tairia is the second-winningest coach in Cal State Northridge's history.
Current Role at Loyola Marymount
In the fall of 2020, Tairia Flowers was named the head coach at Loyola Marymount University. She continues to lead and inspire young athletes there.
Personal Life
Tairia Flowers is married to Jason Flowers.
