Up Close: Mickey Thompson
Article Tools
Share This +
Bulldogs' Head Coach Discusses Expectations for 2008
Monday, August 11, 2008
The head coach of theStone Bridge High School Bulldogs football team doesn't like to make predictions, but he can't deny his team's top-dog status. Mickey Thompson discusses expectations for his team for the 2008 season, players to watch out for, and the challenges they'll face in making the run to State.
Q: How does it feel to know you'll have the words "defending state champion" precede "Stone Bridge Bulldogs" all season long?
A:Well it'll be a little different because I always downplay the next season, and I don't think with the guys we have coming back, I can't downplay it and have anyone believe what I'm saying. It's a little different. We'll start a lot more highly rated than usual and hopefully that will be a new motivation: To stay on top.
Q: How long did you take to soak in the state title before moving on and preparing for this season?
A: Well, I'll be honest with you. The first time I really looked at film was in the last couple of weeks. Because with the recruiting and everything it just keeps on going it never stops. So I've been really busy with recruiting, trying to get kids where they need to go, and just recently I've been able to sit down and I watched the game the other day. It was the first time I've really watched it since the game was over. I am actually enjoying it now more than I ever had. Because I don't really want to think about the start of the football season, I hate it. We go through cuts, equipment, all that kind of stuff. I don't even want to think about that stuff right now. So I'm thinking about last year a lot right now.
Q: How do you make sure your kids have also pushed past last year and are ready for what this season holds?
A: Well I think it's a big deal. Very few people have ever repeated and that's a driving force. We've talked about what an accomplishment that would be, so you move on to the next challenge, which would be doing something that very few teams have done. And a lot of guys that started last year are back so you've got a chance to play back-to-back state championship seasons if things fall the right way. So that's plenty of motivation I think.
Photo Gallery
Bulldogs Crowned Champs
Stone Bridge was the home team and as such, was using the University of Virginia's team locker room. Here, the team gathers just before entering the field to begin its championship game against Potomac. (Tracy A. Woodward)
In the first quarter, Stone Bridge's No. 3 Jeron Gouveia is taken down by Potomac's No. 4 Darius Brent. (Tracy A. Woodward)
In the first quarter with 3:43 on the clock, Stone Bridge's No. 8 Matt Irwin takes down Potomac's No. 7 Abdul Kanneh. (Tracy A. Woodward)
With five minutes left in the second quarter, Stone Bridge's No. 11 Ryan Moody makes this catch but the ball pops into the air and Stone Bridge's No. 15 John Bladel completes the catch and scores the touchdown for Stone Bridge. On defense for Potomac is No. 2 Mulku Kalokoh. (Tracy A. Woodward)
The University of Virginia's Scott Stadium in Charlottesville, during the Stone Bridge and Potomac game. (Tracy A. Woodward)
Stone Bridge students cheer their football team in the fourth quarter of the game against Potomac. (Tracy A. Woodward)
In the fourth quarter with 10:57 on the clock, Stone Bridge's No. 3 Jeron Gouveia comes under Potomac's No. 2 Mulju Kalokoh. Stone Bridge was up, 24-0, at the time. (Tracy A. Woodward)
With just a few minutes left to play, the Stone Bridge football team soaks head coach Mickey Thompson. (Tracy A. Woodward)
At the University of Virginia, Stone Bridge students cheer their football team in its championship game against Potomac. (Tracy A. Woodward)
A view of the Carl Smith Center at the University of Virginia as Stone Bridge kicks an extra point, making the score 31-0 in the 4th quarter with 6:16 left in the game. (Tracy A. Woodward)
The Stone Bridge High School football team waits for the presentation of its State AAA Division 5 Champion trophy. (Tracy A. Woodward)
The Stone Bridge football team, with head coach Mickey Thompson, celebrates its AAA Division 5 Championship win (38-0) over Potomac. (Tracy A. Woodward)
Q: You have four seniors who have signed on to play Division I football, and two others considered prospects. What does that say about what you have built and are building at Stone Bridge?
A: It comes a long way from 2000 when I was having to call everybody and tell them where I moved to and that we had kids there. A lot more people stop by, there's a lot more attention [paid] to the program. But when you look around the whole Northern Virginia area, it's just exploded as far as college recruiting. Five years ago you didn't have nearly as many guys signing coming out of Northern Virginia. It's incredible and I think it's the whole area and it's just nice to have Stone Bridge be one of those better teams that are just getting noticed.
Q: What can you do to top last year? Is that Robinson game (last year's only loss) circled on the schedule?
A: Well if you put a lot of emphasis on any one team I think that's a mistake. It's a progression. Wherever we're at, I mean we could be 0-2. We play West Springfield and Robinson, two really good teams [to open the year]. It's where you finish at the end. We just stay with that mentality because if you start circling opponents and you don't do well in that game, what does it do to your psyche? Where are you? If we had focused on Robinson last year where would we have been after we lost to Robinson? It was a tough defeat but we can talk about the next game and we hadn't put so much emphasis on Robinson and so it wasn't destructive.
Q: You've said Jeron Gouveia-Winslow is one of the best players to come through this area, perhaps ever. How difficult will it be to fill his shoes?
A:I didn't think it was that big of a deal because I said, "Oh it is only one player." Now when you start getting closer to the season, you start thinking about some schemes. I went back looking through the scouting reports and I was going "Holy cow, do you believe we would take that kind of risk to run that defensive scheme?" Well we ran it because we knew we had Jeron there. If it didn't work, or they got through he was there to clean it up. And we don't have that player anymore. So it will change how we call defenses. And you just hope … we have nobody we are pointing to now, we have some hopes, but it's not like we have an heir-apparent. There is nobody we have tapped yet to step in and fill his shoes.
Q: Daniel Allen is one of those legitimate college prospects you have but is someone that we didn't get to see much of last year due to injury. What can we expect to see from him this season?
More Up Close
Up Close features Loudoun County residents and their jobs, their interests and their experiences in their communities. Suggest someone for our weekly Up Close feature by emailing us at loudounextra@wpni.com with their name and why you think they stand out.
A: He has incredible skills. The question will be staying healthy. He's a great defensive back too so we'd like to see him on the defensive side. He is the guy that is going to make the running game go. You're going to see some really excited runs. He is a gifted player and it's just, will he stay healthy?
Q: Another signee is David Wang, who is projected to play on the defensive line in college for Virginia Tech but plays offensive line for you. Should we expect to see more of Wang on defense this year creating a defensive line composed of three Division I signees (along with Brian Slay, NC State and Zach Thompson, Wake Forest)?
A: Well Jimmy Bradford's awful good. And that's the thing people don't understand. He's 5-11; if he's 6-3 he's a D-I signee too. And it's just high school ball, he's as good as the other three. We're looking to play more four-man line and if we play a four-man line, if we gravitate towards that, then David is going to play a lot more defense. A lot of it depends on our offensive line. Because if we get quality offensive lineman coming through for us I can move David off the offensive line and actually play primarily a four-man line and play those guys [together] up front.
Q: You guys blew out a lot of teams last season with a high-power, multi-faceted attack. With so many high-quality returns on defense this year, though, should that be considered more of the strength? Will there be more shutouts than blowouts this year?
A: I think this is definitely our strongest defensive front. Secondary-wise there are a lot of question marks. So we've got to shore that up and not let people get the big play on us and I think we'll have a great season. But it's not a slam-dunk defensively. I mean the front eight are pretty special. But you still have to have the back three to go with it. And we've got two of the three … actually, Michael Prince, who played corner for us last year, is going to move primarily to offense so we're going to have to replace three guys in the secondary. That's a big task for us.
Q: So can we get a prediction? Will you repeat as state champs?
A: That's a loooong way to go, man. If you start looking at those games: 15 games. Oh my God. We have no depth, so injuries could be catastrophic for us this year. It's not like last year where guys could get hurt and there were guys right there waiting to get in. So I'm just hopeful. Let's put it that way.
Tagged: football, high school sports, Stone Bridge High School, Up Close
Deal of the Day
This Weekend Only, 15% Off Toys!
Holiday Sale! Starts Wednesday 11/19-Sunday 11/23 No Coupons Are Necessary! All Games and Puzzles on Sale! Take 15% off all ...
• View all deals from Go Bananas Toys, Brambleton Town Center | All deals
Urgent Deal
• Save $10 on Plasma Cars! expires: 11/23/08
|
Search Deals and Business Directory |
Your Thoughts...
Where will you and your family spend the Thanksgiving holiday?
Comments:
Note: LoudounExtra.com does not necessarily agree with comments posted below — responsibility lies with the relevant reader alone. Peruse our reader agreement and privacy policy
Follow up question to Coach Thompson's remarks about how he has "been really busy with recruiting, trying to get kids where they need to go." Q: College coaches would agree with you that the recruiting process is the most draining aspect of the game. You seem to have a knack for getting blue chip players to leave their original high school programs after three years and attend Stone Bridge for their senior year. Is this what you mean by getting kids where they need to go? No doubt you have earned the respect and admiration of your fellow coaches, not to mention your players who came up through the school's program, by so deftly sidestepping the VHSL rules regarding communications with transfers. But then again, success always has its detractors.
Posted by verisimilitude (anonymous) on August 12, 2008 at 11:38 a.m. (Suggest removal)
From what I understand, Coach Thompson is very proactive contacting college coaches. He contacts at least 4/5 colleges each day as well as seeking outside donations to the football program. It’s no secret. In fact it’s on his board as a daily reminder, visible for everyone. My kids don’t even go to Stone Bridge and they know how much Thompson goes to bat for those kids. So, when he talks about getting players where they need to go, it's getting his players college contacts. I've talked with many parents who want their kids in his football program because of his ability to get his players the attention of college recruiters. You don’t have to like Thompson as a coach, but he's very good at marketing his team. Who wouldn't want their kids to play for this school? Families have physically moved to a new home to have their kids on the Stone Bridge team. I've not heard of any other coaches in the Ashburn area be as proactive as he is. Ask your coaches how many college recruiters they’ve spoken to and what they're doing to get your child looked at and how many recruiters they’ve invited to take a look at your kids...not just the hand picked players, but the whole team. Don’t be surprised at the response.
Posted by fb4life (anonymous) on August 12, 2008 at 2:40 p.m. (Suggest removal)
College contacts does not equate to college scholarships. Stone Bridges' soccer foooootball team gets more D1 scholarships than Thompson. Last year, only Jeron Gouveia signed D1 letter of intent and year before that only Nuss signed D1 (Brown was recruited before coming to SB), and year before that the only D1 was the LB to Duke. I'm sorry but three D1 signees in three years does not make for a marketing genius. How many do you think from the 2010 class will sign? My guess is none. Oddly, there is a spike up in signees in the year his sons happen to be seniors. Go figure.
Posted by verisimilitude (anonymous) on August 12, 2008 at 5:47 p.m. (Suggest removal)
You seem to have all the answers. Sadly, it sounds like sour grapes. You might want to reread that post you commented to. The content talks about the level of effort the coach puts into the program and the lack of effort from other coaches.
Posted by hikicocomilk (anonymous) on August 12, 2008 at 7:10 p.m. (Suggest removal)
To Sour Grapes:
Brown most certainly did NOT have an offer before coming to Stonebridge and Thompson worked like a dog for him. The truth is if Brown had played for Thompson his junior year, he would have had multiple offers. In the end it worked out perfectly for Brown as he is a stud for Wake Forest now. Let's see now: Ed Wang, Devon Brown, Andrew Nuss, Andrew Holomon, Terrence Glenn, Grant Harris, Jeron Gouveia-Winslow, Brian Slay, Zack Thompson, Mike Olson, Patrick Thompson...and these are FULL scholarships, unlike soccer where they're all partial. If you want to compare apples with apples we can look at SB partial football scholarships also, just didn't want to take up too much space here. How are the other area schools doing in comparison? Oh yeah, and DI schools just happen to be interested in Thompson's boys--nothing to do with the boys' skills, right? Dude, grow a brain.
Posted by ocsuperstar6 (anonymous) on August 12, 2008 at 11:47 p.m. (Suggest removal)
To Dude:
Stop drinking the kool-aid and grow a pair. Four D1 signees from 2004 to 2007 seasons...that's still an average of ONE a year. Big deal. Actually, that is more a testament to Thompson's fine coaching abilities than his marketing skills. For anyone to say he works harder than other area coaches on getting players scholarships ignores the facts. Look at last years Post's rankings, and you will find many teams who consistently place 8-15 D1 signees every year. Look at Flint Hill in Oakton, and who has about 25 kids playing football, yet consistently places 10 to 15% of their kids in D1 programs. Thompson recruits high school players based on the success of the team not any stellar scholarship results. My original comment was how you go about recruiting high school kids, like the Loudoun Valley transfers this year. PG county cracked down on this last year and suspended at least three coaches. What type of scrutiny has Stone Bridge's recruiting program been under? Dude, support your program without running down other coaches, especially when there is no evidence that a coach on Hay Road "works harder' than any other Metro area coach when it comes to getting D1 letters of intent signed.
Posted by verisimilitude (anonymous) on August 19, 2008 at 9:54 a.m. (Suggest removal)
To Sour Grapes:
Your post is so riddled with inaccuracies that I don't know where to start. You seriously need a reality check and perhaps someone to do some research for you as it appears you can't seem to get a single fact right. The school in the metro area with the most recruits last year was Dematha. The second...you got it: Stonebridge. Flint Hill had ONE full ride last year (Army). Question: can you count?? Read the names eleven names above. Actually there should be twelve...I forgot David Wang. These are FULL D1 scholarships, a testament to both good coaching and tenacity when it comes to working with college recruiters. Your most glaring example of sheer ignorance is to say that Thompson recruits high school players and to compare Stonebridge with a private school that can and does recruit. Stonebridge isn't under any scrutiny because there is nothing to scrutinize. Stonebridge won a state title last year, they have a ton of key players returning, so it's not like the team needs to look outside themselves for anything. It's not like Thompson can help it if people want to move into the school zone to play in a program that is a winner for a coach who has established a winning tradition. Your posts exemplify exactly what happens when good people experience success--others get jealous. Sorry your kid has to play in an inferior program. You should check the housing market in Ashburn, and you too could be a part of something special...that is if your kid could even make the team.
You're welcome in advance for the education.
Dude
p.s. you should try a new color--green isn't at all flattering on you
Posted by ocsuperstar6 (anonymous) on August 20, 2008 at 10:49 p.m. (Suggest removal)
The problem here is that it's not about property being available in Ashburn. It's about the intent to make it your permanant residence, which there is not in this case.
And you can't rent in a new area in order to become eligible. Actually, you are more than welcome to do that - but a waiver of eligibility should never be signed, because that would be an illegal transfer. All this means is that a school board member signed it and should not have.
And before a Stone Bridge person comes on here to goad people into 'well go ahead and protest it...go right ahead!' You don't want to do that in this instance.
Your principal is ultimately responsible for signing off on the eligible roster, and if anyone brings this up to him, he would be out of his mind to let this pass. This is not flying in other school systems nor is it flying within schools within the very same County. Only in this part of Ashburn is this happening.
From the VHSL manual, and you can go right on their website and read more about it:
(7) Residence is defi ned as the domicile of an individual, meaning that the individual lives
in a locality with the intent to make it a fi xed and permanent home. Domicile requires more
than bodily presence as an inhabitant in a given place; it requires bodily presence and an
intention to make such a place a fi xed and permanent home. Other indicia of domicile include
automobile registration, voter registration and the reporting of a mailing address change to
the appropriate agencies, such as the post offi ce, utility companies, creditors and employers.
Under no circumstances can a family or student participant have two residences for
eligibility purposes. It is the obligation of the school to know the complete residence status
of each student participant and to see that all comply with these requirements. Any change
in residence must be bona fi de. Determination of what constitutes a bona fi de change of
residence depends upon the facts of each case, but in order for a change of residence to
be considered bona fi de at least the following facts must exist: (1) The original residence
-65-
RULES AND REGULATIONS
must be abandoned as a residence; that is sold, rented or disposed of as a residence, and
must not be used as a residence by any member of the family, (2) The entire family must
make the change and take with them the household goods and furniture appropriate to the
circumstances, and (3) The change must be made with the intent that it is permanent.
Fact: their property is not for sale, it is for rent, and is still for rent.
Fact: You still have to call ahead before you visit the property to let the owners know that you're coming (why would that be the case if none of them are living there)?
Fact: You cannot transfer for athletic reasons (this is clearly stated in another part of the manual).
Posted by MiniHaHa (anonymous) on August 21, 2008 at 12:09 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I'm curious if Stone Bridge has reached its enrollment capacity, and if so, have bona fide residents who have transferred into this district, or non-athletes, been told they must attend another school system because Stone Bridge has reached capacity? Should there be a finding that student-athletes have been allowed to enroll when non-athletes have been denied matriculation, then I would be more than a little concerned about the integrity of my program. I would want someone good, someone really really good watching my back. Maybe that’s you Dudette. Listen, no one contends any impropriety when some family with a student who wants to play football moves into the district from say another state, and chooses Stone Bridge because they have a renowned athletic program. But you have to admit some eyebrows are going to be raised when two student-athletes transfer within the county and just happen to fill the two most glaring voids in Stone Bridge’s line-up, that of wide receiver and that of offensive lineman. For the sake of the student-athletes, the coach might want to come out and say there is no controversy, no one affiliated with Stone Bridge contacted these kids/parents about transferring, the parents made the move completely on their own, no booster or any one connected to the program made any real estate transactions on behalf of the parents, this is all nonsense, just let the kids play.
Posted by verisimilitude (anonymous) on August 22, 2008 at 9:58 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Yep...that's it. Stonebridge has a line of kids up and down Hay Road who have been denied admission because of a couple of transfer kids. What world do you live in? How you must thrive on drama in your life because that's a juicy little fabrication you're trying to spin there, sour grapes. I agree with one statement: let's stop the maligning remarks and let the kids play.
Posted by ocsuperstar6 (anonymous) on August 25, 2008 at 11 p.m. (Suggest removal)
It's also very odd that (the story is still in the archives of the Loudoun Times) that in one other player's case, as of mid-July, he mentioned a goal he aspired to his Senior year at Loudoun Valley was to maybe finally beat Stone Bridge.
Odd, given the fact that he must have already known he would be playing for Stone Bridge, given that their house would have already had to sold and knew he would be moving. Otherwise, their house was already on the market at that time, and it 'sold' within that next week or so and they also 'bought' in that particular part of Ashburn. OR - it's another Rent out, Rent-in scenario which may or may not have been completed, which clearly suggests a transfer for athletic reasons, which is not allowed.
Alotta questions. It doesn't matter whether a SB coach or personnel contacted them or not - these are separate issues. Either of these cases still look as if these are transfers that should not be legal and a waiver should not be signed by a board member. It also doesn't matter whether you have the money to hold 2 properties open - because you cannot do that, by VHSL rules, to become eligible in another location. The rules are very clear.
It's just a matter of whether they got someone to sign off on the waiver, and if they did, it still isn't necessarily a legal transfer - not when you read and know the rules. SB easily could be risking their entire season if someone protests this several games into the season, and they were to have to forfeit.
Posted by MiniHaHa (anonymous) on August 26, 2008 at 12:02 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Dont have an account? Sign up!
Post a comment