When 13 players graduate from a state championship team, the following season is usually known as a rebuilding year. It’s time for the coaching staff to assess the returning and incoming talent and try to put the puzzle pieces together. Which pieces fit where to maximize the team’s performance?
By the end of the season, it was evident that Coach Jordan Thompson (’06) and his staff put the puzzle together because in its “rebuilding year,” the 2024 team won it all.
Coach Thompson, who earned his fifth soccer state championship with the recent victory in the fall believes it is important for each team to develop its own identity. “It is super important to allow each team to be singular. This was not a continuation of last year. It was a completely different team with a different story to be told. While it brings a different challenge, each team deserves to have its own identity.”
Certainly, the goal for every season is to win a state championship, and a coach’s job is to put the team in the position to perform at its best. Thompson believed with the personnel he had returning and the influx of new players coming in, a realistic goal was to get to the final four. “That was relatively in our control if we performed as we should,” he said.
After some disappointing losses, halfway through the season, the team was under .500. Much of their underperformance was due to the uncertainty about the team’s identity. Many positions were being filled by young players this season. In contrast, last year’s successful championship team did not start a single freshman, and this year, multiple freshmen and sophomores were starting. It remained to be seen how the younger players would perform when tested at this level.
As a practice, Coach Thompson intentionally schedules strategic games at different points in the season to test his team’s strengths and resolve. He views the last regular-season game versus Hutchison as a good example. “I respect their program and their coaches. I used them as a litmus test for us. Going into that game, there were a lot of questions about whether we could rise to the occasion or not. Our team rose to that test incredibly well.”
He explained, “Prior to that, as a team we could not trust each other. We have some younger girls who were worried about what everyone was going to think if they messed up.” Coach assured them they are going to mess up, but he emphasized that their team is going to support them no matter what. “As those players accepted that responsibility, our floor got so much higher. After that, we truly became a team that trusted each other, and we were no longer acting like lots of individual units.”
That process took longer than Coach Thompson thought it would. “It was much more about seeing everyone click. You can’t force that. I can foster that with leadership and teamwork opportunities, but they took it over at that point.” The game against Hutchison was a turning point. “That’s why to me the story of this season is so fun. The transition from a talented team to a championship team was player-driven.”
Team captain and senior Riley Davis observed the different team dynamic from last year. She believes building relationships with players off the field went a long way toward building trust among teammates which ultimately allowed the team to perform better.
A highlight for Riley during the season was getting to watch the younger girls step up and perform better than they expected. “Watching where we started and where we ended up, I have such gratitude as I reflect on this season. There were a lot of ups and downs, but that’s what made it so special.”
Riley said her five-time state championship coach was open to hear feedback from players and adaptable to provide what the team needed throughout the season. “He is team-centered, took what we had to say to heart and made some necessary changes.”
“Turn the screw” became an idea that Coach Thompson shared with the girls that really caught on with this team. Just as a screw takes longer to drive into wood than hitting a nail, a screw is also stronger and more secure than a nail. It is a process that does not happen overnight. That concept was true with this team as it took time to determine roles, abandon fears and play as one cohesive unit.
“As a coach, I like to call this concept marginal gains: What can you do every single day to get a little better?” He explains that may mean that players get a protein shake and an ice bath after games. Maybe that means completing their homework during study hall, eating healthy or limiting their phone use. The coaching staff focuses on the fact that if a player is on this team, she can never be neutral. “From the first day everyone shows up in June for practice, every choice can help us or hurt us.
“It is sometimes easy when you set massive goals to bypass the simple things, but the small things are important,” Coach Thompson said. “The more you turn the screw, the more impossible it becomes to move. If everyone was consistently committed to that idea, then this group would become somewhat immovable. They bought in.”
The night before the semifinal game, the team was surprised to watch a video of ECS soccer alumnae expressing confidence in them and wishing them well in their state title campaign. “That was really cool,” Riley said. “I was really taken aback by that. Hearing from people like Maddie Halford (’23) and last year’s assistant coach Molly Martin (’17) to have that much faith in us, it really meant a lot. They just shared simple words of confidence and kindness, and it was very emotional for some of us. It was really cool that that many people believed in us.”
Not only did this vote of confidence help, but playing in the championship the year before benefitted the team. “We have been here before,” Riley said. “We’ve done this. We know what to do. It definitely took the heavy weight off getting there.”
Riley explained that last year, the championship game was new and nerve-wracking. It took a long time for the team to play like themselves. In contrast, she said, “This year, as soon as the whistle blew, we had complete confidence in ourselves and in each other. It felt a lot more fun. We were able to enjoy it more. It was our best game of soccer all season. And that’s a great feeling when you end playing your best.”
At ECS, team members are encouraged to integrate their faith with their sport. While team prayer is an expected pre-game practice, the girls on this team began to pray together without any coach’s prompting. “Even if we got frustrated, (prayer) steadied our minds,” Riley said. “We had a purpose and a goal to honor God in our efforts. That was my prayer during games: Help us to honor You with our words and our actions on the field. That was our goal, first and foremost.”
As Riley moves on from her soccer career, she reflected, “It was a great experience to play with a bunch of different types of girls, skill levels, and to collab with Coach Thompson. I learned to be a humble player and strong leader. The friendships along the way have been incredible. I am grateful to be a part of this program for all four years.”
Coach Thompson is quick to pass along the credit for his five soccer state championships. “I get the coaches plaque every time, but if for a split-second people think that I did it all, they are mistaken.”
The decorated coach is intentional to surround himself with people he says are better than he is. A pillar on the coaching staff is his dad, Dave Thompson, a former Marine who has many years of experience coaching soccer and started the well-known Lobos competitive soccer organization. The father-son duo is super competitive and frequently argues on the sidelines. “I don’t enjoy having someone out there who is going to agree with me,” the younger Thompson said. “Both of us are so competitive, and we want to do everything in our power to succeed.” And that means many arguments, but any disagreements are tethered by a deep bond of love, respect and support of one another.
Coach Thompson also has his own high school coach on the boys coaching staff, Coach Dave Carter. In addition, Coach Kelsey Keown was a helpful assistant coach this season, and alumni whom Thompson coached, like Mabry Mokros and Brandon Brackett, also joined the girls team staff and the boys team staff, respectively. “I have learned a lot from my assistant coaches. It is truly a community project. Plus we have really great players who execute the plan. It’s never been about me,” Thompson added.
Thompson has coached at his alma mater for the past 13 years, many of which have been alongside his own coaches like Coach Carter, Coach Alan Durham and even the late Coach Jim Heinz. He passes down what he learned from his coaches: “We are going to take this stuff seriously, but soccer is not all that there is.” He explains it’s really about relationships and discipleship opportunities formed from soccer, and that was modeled by Thompson’s high school coaches. Now Thompson passes that relationship focus onto his players. Soccer alumni call him when tragedy strikes, they FaceTime him to meet their newborn babies, and last summer, Thompson officiated the wedding of Molly Martin Scherr.
“If it’s just championships that are fueling you on, that’s exhausting. No, it’s about being there for one another in life – that’s fuel. Those things are only part of a greater story that you can help write with these kids.”
In closing, Coach Thompson shared a story that seemed to solidify this team’s identity that eluded them early in the season – an identity borne out of resilience and resolve resulting in redemption.
“When we were designing the rings, there is a place to put the win-loss-tie record, and no one on the team wanted our record of 14-7-2 to be on there. But that is part of the story of this team,” Coach Thompson argued. “It was not handed to us; it was not easy. This was not an inevitable thing. Last year’s championship in many ways felt inevitable because of our preseason expectations for so many returning starters. But I think putting a record on the ring that has more losses than most championship teams is just as awesome. It tells a different story and makes these girls unique. I think there is a lot of value in that.”
