Thompson Returns

THOMPSON RETURNS TO OLD SOCCER STOMPING GROUNDS

BY KELLY JUNTUNEN, COMMUNICATIONS AND ACTIVITIES COORDINATOR, ALLEN HIGH SCHOOL

This year’s girls soccer team’s motto is “Nothing is Given — Everything is Earned,” and no one exemplifies that maxim more than head coach Kelly Thompson. Thompson, now in her fourth year as head coach of the varsity girls soccer team at Allen, has come full circle from playing as a student at Allen High School to coaching.

“I always knew I wanted to come back to Allen. I loved being a student from first grade on here in Allen and it was just the neatest place to me.” Thompson said. “In my heart I knew I always wanted to make my way back if I had an opportunity.”

Thompson was a natural athlete growing up, playing nearly every sport and doing gymnastics as a child, but soccer had a special place for her.

“Soccer started for me at age four and it never stopped,” Thompson said.

Thompson played varsity soccer all four years of high school and was the captain her senior year. After high school Thompson headed to Texas A&M University to play soccer where her team won four Big 12 Championships. That was when she started thinking about coaching as a career.

“She’s a great leader and she was fun to coach. Kelly was a great player who has a true passion for the game,”” said Karen Hunnicutt, Thompson’s coach her senior year at Allen High School. “It has been fun to see her success in her career to help channel her love for soccer and mentor young athletes.”

Thompson credits the appearances at soccer camps that she made while playing at Texas A&M as a turning point for her career path.

“I would do A&M soccer camps where little ones would come and stay in the dorm and I would be their camp counselor and get to coach them on the field and that’s where that passion for coaching started for me,” she said.

Thompson’s first coaching job was at Foster High School in the Houston area where she started as a varsity head soccer coach. “I loved Foster, but I remember showing them videos of the band marching down the halls, the stands at football games and just that atmosphere because there’s nothing like Allen.” She knew she eventually wanted to make her way back home. A stop at Ursuline Academy in Dallas earned her three state championships and positioned her for the head job at Allen in 2018.

“There wasn’t a position at Allen when I started at Ursuline, but each year I was in talks, checking in and then four years ago was the perfect time,” she said. “My husband and I had our first child and we were looking to move up here in the suburbs. It all worked out.”

In Thompson’s first year at Allen she took her team to state for the first time in 21 years. This was followed by a season cut short by COVID. Last year the soccer team earned second in district but faced an early exit in playoffs. At the time of publication, the Lady Eagles are already in the third round of the 2022 playoffs.

“We are really excited to be in the playoffs again this year,” Thompson said. “Due to COVID, the last time these seniors really got to go through it was their freshman year.”

While wins are fun, Thompson doesn’t discredit the growth that can come from learning from losses and putting in the work each day.

“I think that work ethic, fairness, and giving 100 percent – those are things that they can do in practice and on the field each day and will make these student-athletes successful in everything they pursue in life,” she said. “Our program, and the girls in our program are really special and unique. The talent is unreal. Every year we have some of the most talented players moving up. And every year, we see some of the hardest workers ever seen.”

Thompson recognizes that being a student-athlete is difficult. She encourages her players to have a well-balanced approach to their time management.

“It is important to be able to balance studies, which come first and foremost, your school athletics, your club athletics, and also, a social life,” Thompson said. “I think it’s important to have that group and have time with friends.”

In recognition of her athletic accomplishments across her career, Thompson was inducted into the 2021 Athletic Hall of Honor for Allen ISD.

“A lot of amazing athletes were honored,” Thompson said. “That was pretty special that I know I put my heart and soul into it and I’m part of that group.”