San Jose Earthquakes ahead Tommy Thompson is at present with the U.S. under-20 workforce in Marbella, Spain—which ought to shock precisely no one. From early on, soccer permeated Thompson’s life.
BY
Brian Sciaretta
Posted
November 13, 2014
11:31 AM
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SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES ATTACKER Tommy Thompson, 19, is among the finest youngsters in Main League Soccer. He’ll seemingly be a part of the US under-20 workforce that can search to qualify for subsequent yr’s U-20 World Cup in New Zealand. He has a reliable shot at representing the U.S. on the 2016 Olympics.
And he’s completely, positively a chip off the outdated block.
Tommy Thompson’s father is Gregg Thompson, 53, a former U.S. nationwide workforce participant who scored
some of the well-known collegiate targets ever when he tallied within the eighth extra time of the 1982 Nationwide Championship, giving Indiana College a 2-1 win over Duke. The elder Thompson additionally made the US’ 1984 Olympic workforce and scored a memorable purpose in opposition to Egypt in a 1-1 attract entrance of a sold-out crowd at Stanford Stadium.
Gregg Thompson’s three sons are all high-level soccer gamers. Along with Tommy, Ty Thompson is a junior midfielder for Stanford College’s No.2-ranked squad and Tanner Thompson, a sophomore, performs within the midfield for Indiana College, which is ranked sixth.
And no, it isn’t a coincidence. Gregg was closely concerned in his sons’ improvement, working soccer camps and serving as coach for a lot of of their groups. Whereas he was in a position to instill the eagerness for the sport into his youngsters, he’s nonetheless shocked at how completely different the game is at present in contrast with when he grew up enjoying within the Seventies.
When he compares American participant improvement now to his technology, he notices the advance however wonders if the early ages through which they change into solely specialised is finest for his or her total athletic improvement.
“It is way different now,” Gregg mentioned. “Again within the day we had been multi-sport. We performed soccer, baseball, and all that type of stuff. Tommy and his brothers had a soccer ball in the home [early on]. I used to be fascinated about that the opposite day simply because the balls had been at all times round: ‘Wow, is that basically what it is going to take to get to the highest level? To have a soccer ball inside somebody’s home at age one or two, simply nudging it round after they first stroll?’
“They concentrate on it early now, and in some methods it’s disappointing, however that’s how it’s nowadays.”
When talking with the three soccer-playing Thompson children, all of them say that soccer was a pure alternative and none of them felt compelled to participate. Gregg would typically insist on breaks however it was the sons who shortly begged to play once more.
“I pushed them hard at times,” Gregg acknowledged. “However as a bit intestine test I’d inform them at a younger age, ‘OK, these next two-three weeks, there’s nothing. We’re going to go to Lake Tahoe. We’re not going to the touch a soccer ball. That’s it, interval, finish of story.’
“At the back of my thoughts I hoped they’d say they wished to play. However only for my very own sanity, I wished to make it positive it was them main on this, not me. I’d do it annually and fortuitously they’d at all times say, ‘No, chance. I want to play in this tournament.’”
Eldest son Ty recollects the interior competitions between he and his brothers and believes that the setting helped carry out one of the best in him. He fondly recollects the video games within the yard—and even the lounge—and cherishes the nonstop soccer tradition in and round the home.
“Growing up with brothers who played soccer was so nice,” Ty mentioned. “We were always competing with each other. Things would get very heated. Our dad would run a lot camps and he was very active as a coach in our lives. He didn’t force us to practice. He didn’t put us under any pressure but we loved the soccer camps.”
Of all of the Thompsons, Tommy is standing within the brightest highlight nowadays. He earned constructive critiques with the Earthquakes this season regardless of the workforce’s many struggles in MLS. He missed the primary months of the season with an damage after which was loaned to Sacramento as he regained his health.
Thompson was among the many most spectacular gamers at a United States U-20 camp in July the place he helped his workforce cruise to victory within the NTC event. He additionally performed 23 minutes in final night time’s dynamic 4-3 win over Russia within the Marbella Match.
The youngest Thompson has at all times been fairly bold. He graduated highschool in three years and left Indiana College after only one yr as he pushed to succeed in the subsequent degree. Subsequent yr, he desires to be a key a part of the Earthquakes’ rebuilding course of because the membership strikes into its new stadium.
“I set a excessive customary for myself and I wish to set the bar excessive so I can obtain these targets however there’s a variety of work to be executed,” Tommy mentioned. “I’m hoping to become a regular starter and be a guy on the field even when everyone is healthy. I’d also like to get in with the U-20 national team with the World Cup coming in May. There are some exciting things coming up and I am just excited to show everybody what I can do.”
Followers of the Earthquakes are fast to notice that Thompson has distinctive ball management expertise and sometimes throughout warm-ups he reveals off his capacity to dribble or do methods. Whereas it appears to be like like full pure capacity, his brothers say that Tommy was a little bit of a late bloomer and, not less than early on, confirmed the least curiosity in soccer among the many brothers.
Ty recollects a selected second in Tommy’s youthful days when their father defined to him that his older brothers had been overtaking him when it comes to foot-skills. From then, he mentioned, it was a very completely different story.
“Tanner and I, we were at a little bit of higher level at the younger ages just because Tommy didn’t put the time into it and was kind of disinterested—which was totally fine,” Ty revealed. “My dad was like, ‘Tom it is totally cool that you are not really doing the foot-skills stuff…but Tanner and Tyler, they’re type of passing you up. They’re creating their expertise. If you wish to be good, it’s a must to develop your expertise.’
Apparently his aggressive nature kicked into excessive gear.
“He then started taking it more seriously,” Ty mentioned. “He turned the most effective jugglers I’ve ever seen and is simply nice with methods. He has a profound ability with that.”
“I really started seeing him come forward in terms of his soccer career at probably the U-12 and U-13 level,” Ty added. “You could tell he was standout. He was the ringer on the team. Having that role on the team helped him improve even more. It was a snowball effect. When people are getting you the ball, you’re just improving at an exponential rate. He’s a good player. A lot of things have led to that.”
Trying forward, expectations will solely be heightened for Thompson as he has probably has a U-20 World Cup and the 2016 Olympics on the horizon. Given his capacity to assault with pace out vast, Tommy can play a place that U.S. youth groups have struggled to fill in recent times.
John Stollmeyer was a former teammate of Gregg Thompson at Indiana and was on the 1990 U.S. World Cup workforce. He regularly attends Indiana video games and got here away extraordinarily impressed with Tommy Thompson and believes his ceiling may be very excessive.
“Every time he had the ball, Tommy was so dangerous,” Stollmeyer mentioned. “He just had a knack to play a ball on an off-step. He’s just difficult to deal with. He’s one of those tricky little players. He’s for real. He’s not soft. He doesn’t back off. As a freshman, he did at IU what I expect freshman that can play do.”
This season for the Earthquakes, head coach Mark Watson got here away with an almost equivalent evaluation.
“He’s got a good feel for the game in terms of being in spots to get on the ball,” Watson mentioned. “He’s got a little trick and can get past people. When he still was in high school playing for our reserve team he didn’t back down from any confrontation. That’s what we liked about him.”
Gregg remembers his days representing the U.S. nicely and is especially excited on the prospect of getting his son comply with in his footsteps all the way in which to Rio de Janeiro.
“It’s a little bit of a Deja vu type thing,” Gregg mentioned. “Even though he’s a much better player than I ever was and has more skill than I ever had, he’s going through a lot of the emotions that I was going through—and some of the doubts here and there. You question yourself a little bit. I’m glad I am able to talk to him about how to handle some of those things.”
Emotionally, nevertheless, he believes there’s a widespread bond and is completely satisfied he’s nonetheless in a position to assist even when he’s now not his son’s coach.
“Going forward, he has pretty high aspirations,” Gregg continued. “He’s a very hard worker and he’s a humble kid, but confident. I’m very optimistic for his future as far as soccer goes.”
Tommy, for his half, factors to his father as an inspiration and a task mannequin.
“I credit all my development to him,” Tommy mentioned. “He was the head coach of every team I’ve been on up until I was in college, basically. One of the awesome things about my dad is that he’s never been one of the dads who is always pushing for his son to be the next big thing. He would always keep it in check with what I wanted to do.”
However rising up within the Thompson family, there was by no means actually any doubt about what Tommy would find yourself doing for a residing. Soccer is in his blood.
Brian Sciaretta is an American Soccer Now columnist and an ASN 100 panelist. Comply with him on Twitter.
