Sinton's former head coach Tom Allen dies

SINTON, Texas — Tom Allen, the long-time highly successful former coach and athletic director of Sinton High School, died on Thursday.

"Man he was a fiery guy," Isaac Martinez, Sinton coach and 2014 graduate, said. "He was just one of those coaches I would have ran through a brick wall for, and I still would. I love him and I'm grateful to have played for him and be able to coach for the short time that I did with him."

Allen was forced to retire in 2018 after he was diagnosed with Multiple Systems Atrophy two years prior to his retirement. Multiple Systems Atrophy is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder that affects the nervous system. Five years ago when Allen retired he shared this message with KRIS 6 Sports.

"This program, they're going to play football and they're going to play well, Allen said. "Regardless of whether I'm here or not, so it's in good hands."

Although he suffered from the disorder, Allen still managed to be on the sideline for the Sinton Pirates doing what he loved most— coaching. He was a coach for 12 years in Sinton, leading the team to 8 district titles, 10 playoff appearances and an impressive 106-40 record. He led the Pirates to back-to-back state semifinals in 2013 and 2014.

"He never really talked to you too much about the x's and o's of everything," Martinez said. "Like he really wanted to push his athletes to be great, and he would always say that to be a great young man you're going to be a great husband, a great father one day."

Allen was one of the most beloved coaches in South Texas. The cause of death has yet to be determined.

"You know the effort that we put in to playing as a Sinton Pirate," Martinez said. "The amount of effort that we gave there would be no door that we couldn't open because we were just going to knock it down if it was locked."