Senior Trevor Thompson spent the last few weeks of summer break going over plays and training in sweltering 95 degree weather, just like he has for the past four years with the varsity football team. His summer practices turn into fall nights of football, which turn into frigid walks to the gym for basketball, which turn into warm jogs to the turf field for baseball.
He is a tri-sport varsity athlete, but he isn’t just in the huddle on the football field – he scores the 45-yard touchdowns. He isn’t just sprinting down the basketball court – he calls the plays. He isn’t just another teammate behind the plate – he hit the ground ball that determined a win. Despite his many accolades and abundance of skill, his teammates describe him as humble and focused.
Although football, basketball and baseball seasons are all five to six days a week for two hours each, plus games, Thompson immerses himself fully in every game and practice – all seasons long. The different groups of people he meets on each team keep him motivated to return each season.
“I feel like I’d let my [teammates] down if I quit any of the sports,” Thompson said
As for football, Thompson is the starting wide receiver and cornerback for the varsity team. It’s his favorite of the three sports and this year they prepared for a particularly important game. Rockhurst vs East: a historic football rivalry which was dormant for 34 years. The game stands to be the highlight of Thompson’s football career.
Thompson launched himself towards the ball into the end zone for yet another touchdown. The steel bleachers rumbled under the weight of the students jumping up and down in excitement as Thompson brought the score 16-14 – Rockhurst in the lead.
Anticipation for the next play beamed from the painted white faces of the decked out student section chanting “get out of your mind.” Columbia blue littered the student section and Lancer school spirit was at an all time high for the intense game.
“The best part about the Rock game was the excitement leading up to it and the energy in the stadium,” Thompson said. “We could hear all of the cheers.”
Thompson walked off the field with one touchdown, five tackles and broke up two passes, however, he didn’t keep track, nor does he ever.
“Trevor really doesn’t brag,” cornerback sophomore Isaiah Wright said. “He takes care of his business and moves on.”
Although this year he was awarded Sunflower League player of the year and placed in the top 11 of Kansas high school athletes, as an All-State Honoree, Thompson would never tell you, his mom Pam Thompson said. Thompson has offers to play football at Stetson, Drake, Colgate, Kansas, Kansas State and Emporia State University’s.
Thompson’s dad Brett is his role model. Brett, who played football at Memphis University, coached Thompson growing up and makes it to every game, often bringing Thompson’s grandparents. If Brett didn’t tell Thompson to promote himself, Thompson wouldn’t show his offers on social media.
“The only time his humbleness has been hard is when he decided to play college football,” Pam said. “Because you have to market yourself and it’s just not in his personality to do that.”
Now with college offers rather than Rockhurst games demanding his attention, the fall cools to 40 degrees, football winds down and slowly car windows frost in the morning. Basketball shoes replace the shoulder pads and helmets in the locker room. Thompson is offered a week-long break between football and basketball by Coach Sean Hair that he politely declines.
***
Wiping off the bottoms of his court shoes, Thompson gets low at center court. He picks up his man, arms in the air defending. Shutting out the sound of the student section, he hones in on sticking to the Olathe East point guard – he needs to stop the ball.
As he shuffles around the court, he presses up towards his opponent to establish his control. With his teammates behind him, Thompson sets the tone of aggression. Although Olathe East isn’t their biggest competition, Thompson gives the game his all, as usual.
He continues his daily winter routine of going from school to basketball practice or a game, calling the plays and scoring an average of 14 points per game. It’s all routine for him – it’s just his job the way he sees it.
“Whatever I make for breakfast, that’s what he’s gonna eat and whatever I pack in his lunch, that’s what he’s gonna eat. He’s just really easygoing,” Pam said. “I’ll say ‘Trevor does your uniform need to be washed?’ He’ll say ‘I guess’ and I’ll have to make him get it out of his car to wash it.”
As the dark slush from winter disappears, so does his basketball uniform and court shoes for the season. With greenery reappearing, he jumps straight into baseball season without a break.
***
Thompson plays second baseman on the varsity baseball team. Starting his career with tee-ball in kindergarten, Thompson worked his way up to being an important part of the state-winning team last year.
It was the bottom of the 9th inning and SME Lancers faced the Free State Firebirds in the 2016 state championship. Tied at 3-3 for innings, Thompson stepped up to the plate with two outs – this hit was the difference between winning and losing.
As the Firebirds pitcher started his motion the team held their breath with anticipation. Thompson loaded, swung and hit a hard ground ball between first and second base. As he sprinted to first base, his teammate sophomore Philip Cole rounded third. Thompson beat the ground ball. The Firebirds first basemen bobbled the ball while Cole slid into home plate winning the state championship.
The team runs from the dugout, jumping to Thompson, playfully shoving one another around and ending in a pile of players on the red turf on the field.
“I’ve seen Trevor make extraordinary plays, and he acts like it’s just another day’s work,” senior Luke Anderson said. “He’s a silent leader in my opinion, because he’s not the guy who’s going to get everyone pumped, but he leads by example.”
***
It’s like the changing of seasons, one rolls right into the next, just as each sport for Thompson rolls into the next. It’s inevitable that every season he will carry his weight and then some for the team, according to teammates. He goes from school to practice to games and back home but never complains, according to Pam.
Such a time consuming schedule doesn’t seem to budge his diligence. The only time that Thompson loses any form of excitement for practicing every day all year long is when he doesn’t have a Friday game to look forward to, when he knows it’s just practice for practice all week.
Thompson simply put, is a man of few words and “whining” isn’t really in his vocabulary. It’s his presence, his teammates said, that defines him as a teammate. Humble, dedicated and diligent.
Thompson is undecided but plans on picking one of the college offers for football and continuing his career as long as he can. This means in the upcoming years, even when the seasons change, Thompson will stay in the fall.