Celebrating 60 Years of Sleepy Thompson Basketball

Celebrating

6 Years of Sleepy Thompson Basketball

The Man Behind the Legend: Albert "Sleepy" Thompson

By Melissa Ulsaker Maas '76

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1954-55

60th Sleepy Thompson Basketball Tournament December 3-5, 2015 St. Stephen's & St. Agnes Atlantic Shores Christian Bishop Ireton Episcopal Maret Norfolk Collegiate St. Anne's-Belfield Woodberry Forest

Coach Albert "Sleepy" Thompson with varsity basketball players #55 Ed “Temme�

Lawler '56, #25 Jim Johnson '55, #33 Jim Woolsey '55, #10 John Marshall '56, #44 Bob Digges '55, and #22 George Koch '56

This coming December 3-5, St. Stephen's & St. Agnes School will celebrate the 60th anniversary of one of the most anticipated tournaments of the school year. The Sleepy Thompson Basketball Tournament is synonymous with high-energy spirit and fastpaced action, named in honor of a man who was as modest as he was a powerhouse, Coach Albert Lacy "Sleepy" Thompson Jr. (1925-1992).

Coach Thompson came to St. Stephen's in 1952 and remained with the school for the next 40 years, coaching football, basketball, baseball, and golf, as well as serving as the athletics director. During his long tenure, he not only earned the respect and admiration of the Saints community, but also of his peers at other schools. He never used profanity, but he could silence the gym with his favorite oath, "Cheese and Crackers!" Coach Thompson was the consummate role model who put hard work, honor, ethical play, good sportsmanship, and loyalty ahead of winning—but he did win. He won hundreds of games and fielded several undefeated teams as a skilled strategist and tactician, but even more so as a motivator, teacher, and mentor.

Coach Thompson started the annual St. Stephen's Invitational Basketball Tournament in 1957 as a way to bring independent schools with similar academic and athletic values together to enjoy competitive basketball in a friendly, good-spirited atmosphere. It was officially named the Sleepy Thompson Basketball Tournament in 1993. Through the years the tournament has grown in stature and popularity, and many of the young men who have played in our Goodwin Gymnasium have gone on to play in the college ranks, and some even professionally. To this day, nearly 60 tournaments later, the excitement that it generates, the dedication of the many parents and alumni who volunteer to help, and the hard work the student-athletes and their coaches put into each season directly reflect the excitement, dedication, and hard work Coach Thompson put into every day he spent coaching, teaching, and molding countless young Saints. His principles are still deeply embedded in our school's athletic philosophy.

The best portraits of Coach Sleepy Thompson are painted with words in the memories presented here from some of his former colleagues and the students who played for him. If you don't know the man behind the famous tournament, spend the next five minutes reading about him, his accomplishments, and his legacy. Then be sure to join us in December to pay tribute in the best way possible—by supporting Coach Ron Ginyard and our Saints varsity boys basketball team. Go Saints!

We are grateful to the Fathers' Club, which organizes and runs the tournament, and to the Association of Parents and Teachers (APT), which runs Steve & Aggies's Café in the dining hall.

Sleepy Facts From the Sidelines He was a B-17 gunner during WWII in the Army Air Forces.

He was a minor league pitcher for the Boston Red Sox for two years.

Off the field he was a Middle School science teacher.

He also coached third and fourth grades, because he loved children that age.

After retiring from coaching in 1986, he served as the admission director and specialized in alumni relations.

Sleepy's Basketball & Football Scorecard

20 Years Coaching Basketball: Overall record: 307-178 4 IAC titles Several years in the area top 20

32 Years Coaching Football: Overall record: 203-98-5 29 winning seasons 12 IAC titles 3 undefeated seasons

1964-65 Mentor, Friend, and Hero Doug Adams, Faculty

Sleepy Thompson had a profound impact on me as a teacher and a coach. He instilled in me the notion of hard work, determination, and character. He would often say, "Don't let the other guy outwork you," and he taught his coaches that winning is a function of spending ample time studying the X's and O's and preparing for practices and games. More importantly, though, we learned from him that the key to successful coaching is being able to effectively communicate exactly what you want the student-athlete to do in any given situation. We, as coaches, marveled at Sleepy's ability to take some pretty complex tactics and explain them so that they would be easily understood. He did this in the classroom, in the gym, and on the field. Sleepy was the consummate teacher/coach, and he had many opportunities to work in the college ranks. He never seriously considered being anywhere other than SSSAS; his love for and dedication to our school community was unwavering. He was my mentor, he was my friend, and he was my hero!

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Coaching Highlights Voted Outstanding High School Coach by the Big Brothers Club of Washington, D.C. Voted Alexandria Coach of the Year by the Alexandria Sportsman's Club Voted Prep Football Coach of the Year by the Washington Football Officials Association Honored by the Alexandria Grandstand Managers for Contribution to the Youth of the City of Alexandria Honored by the Brookland Sportsman's Club as Football Coach of the Year

1968-69

Named Football Coach of the Year in the Metropolitan Area by The Washington Star Awarded a Timmie by the D.C. Touchdown Club

Trustworthy Authority Figure Tom Boswell '65

Sleepy probably mellowed later in life, but I got to see the original product. In the late '50s and '60s, football below the varsity level was always played with some sense of fun, almost a little lax. But everybody knew the varsity was different— because of Sleepy. Every season, he made a point to say that we would be a "smart" and "clean" football team, but he would always end by saying that "ALL of the HITTERS will play."

I have always measured motivational ability in coaches against The Sleepy Standard. At halftime of a football game, he never cursed, never screamed. He was analytical about strategy.

But, when needed, he also looked like he was about to erupt from barely-contained intensity. His message was carried in his demeanor. We were expected to play the same way he paced the locker room—so pumped up that you couldn't wait to hit something, but so self-disciplined that you never lost your selfcontrol and always stayed focused on your assignment.

He was tough, competitive, and honorable. But he could turn that competitive fire down in an instant if there was an injury or somebody needed to be encouraged or even consoled. He inspired you but never scared you. And he had a good laugh, too. Because he always looked up to the school's academic standards as the top priority by far, he underplayed his own role and was unselfconscious and modest.

Boys brought problems to him that perhaps they couldn't bring to anyone else; maybe because he had a little rougher edge, no preppy polish, ex-pro ballplayer. I never heard anybody say they regretted "going to Mr. Thompson" about something serious. Plenty felt they owed him a lot, yet you seldom learned why.

There could have been a sign on his door: Trustworthy Authority Figure. But he never tried to be.

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1970-71 Make Something Happen Rob Wadsworth '78

"Wadsworth … get out there and make something happen," were my clear instructions. All the lifting, running, training, and late hours oneon-one with Sleepy in front of his office chalkboard leading up to that moment were suddenly on display. Under his coaching I went on to quarterback 16 subsequent games over two seasons, and it was the most transformative experience of my life. Sleepy instilled in me a lasting sense of self-confidence, leadership, and the realization that perseverance and determination would produce results sometimes beyond imagination. Sleepy also made sure I was readily available to talk X's and O's during the summer before my senior year. He asked his father, Albert Thompson, who was the school's head groundskeeper, to hire me as his intern/gopher. I learned as much from Sleepy's dad about hard work that summer as I did from Sleepy, and I am forever grateful for my chance to learn from and truly befriend both. Years later, asked by Sleepy to return to be one of his dad's pallbearers, I knew that my relationship with both men was lasting, deeply personal, and truly special.

1963-64 Clever Strategist—The Fair and Honest Way Jon Peterson '82

Sleepy Thompson: what a mentor and role model for thousands of young men. For decades he achieved so much with so little. He could turn chicken feathers into chicken salad. Sleepy taught his players that playing "The Game" the fair and honest way and losing was better than cheating the system and winning. That does not mean he did not use clever strategy and techniques. Sleepy knew all the rules and used them to his advantage. Example: "Muddle Huddle" football of 1980 at Bullis. The Saints offense jogged onto the field for the first play and lined up at center field in legal formation on the line of scrimmage, away from where the football had been spotted for play on the left hash mark. The Bullis defense huddled their team on the ball. While our offense lined up on the field, our quarterback stayed behind to get the play from Sleepy. He then ran to the ball and legally snapped it to the running back, who was in a favorable position to receive the ball on the opposite side of the formation on the right hash mark. Because the relationship between the two huddles was disjunct, and we had the whole right side of the field to run, the Saints had an overwhelming advantage to block the Bullis players. Our line formed a blockade for me to run behind all the way down the right sideline—the easiest 75 yards in the history of SSS football. The Saints won that game by seven points: the Muddle Huddle difference!

There were not many sports that Sleepy did not coach while he was at St. Stephen's. His coaching philosophy inspired many because, one way or another, many coaches accepted the fact that Sleepy was going to figure out a way to be ahead on the scoreboard when the final horn sounded.

1983-84

Sleepy Thompson Basketball Tournament Stats Most Championships: 9 SSSAS | 7 Episcopal | 7 Gonzaga Most Championship Appearances: 17 SSSAS | 15 Gonzaga | 10 Georgetown Prep Most points scored in one tournament: St. John's with 265 in 1987 Most points scored in one game: Episcopal with 114 in 1996 39 different schools have participated in the tournaments Tradition: Tossing rolls of toilet paper after the first basket scored by the Saints!

Preparation to Succeed Craig Dyson '81

Sleepy had an innate ability to get the very best out of his players and to put them in a position that allowed them to play to their strengths. He prepared his teams like no other coach, and that gave his players the confidence to compete and succeed. I'm not sure we always had better talent than our opponents, but we were certainly well-prepared and put into a position to win … which we did most of the time!

Playing for Him

Henry Biddle, Former Faculty One October evening, we were playing a tough opponent. The game was winding down, and we were winning a close one. Sleepy called the quarterback over and told him just to run out the clock. Four times the quarterback carried the ball off tackle as time ran out. A battered and bloody young man looked up at me and said, "I've wanted to play for that man since the third grade."

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