Teacher of Life

3/26/2025

It was a much-needed feel-good moment in a not-so-feel-good time.

On Tuesday, Collegiate’s varsity boys lacrosse team defeated Deep Run 13-1 on the Grover Jones Field, and while the score tells the story of a significant victory for the Cougars, it comes nowhere close to telling an intensely meaningful and compelling story that has played out over many years.

The game came eight days after the passing of Mike Thompson, who served Collegiate from 1980 until 2007 and headed the boys lacrosse program from 1984 through 1992.

During Mike’s coaching tenure, which ended when he moved full-time into his role as Upper School counselor, the Cougars amassed a record of 106-30 and won three Prep League (1984, 1987, 1988) and two VISAA (1987, 1988) titles.

Championships are nice, of course, and few enjoyed winning them more than Mike. In his mind, though, there was always more, and he conveyed well and enduringly a fight-and-smile credo from which has emerged a significant ripple effect that speaks volumes about the depth and breadth of his coaching, teaching, counseling, and mentoring.

Three Deep Run coaches (Landon Nott ’16, Colscon Wiley ’11, and Mike’s son John Thompson ’11) are Collegiate graduates, as are Collegiate assistants Michael Jarvis ’06 and Jake McDonald ’07.

Former Collegiate lacrosse coaches Andrew Stanley, now the school’s Director of Athletics, and Alex Peavey served with Mike, availed themselves of Mike’s expertise and wisdom even after he left North Mooreland Road and drew inspiration from his example and his life well lived.

As their respective teams warmed up on this cool, breezy, overcast afternoon, each spoke earnestly and unscripted about Mike’s impact on their lives.

Mike leaves an incredible legacy, not just for me but for Collegiate and everyone he touched. He taught each one of us to play with joy and passion but more so to be Good Samaritans of the sport both on and off the field. I’ll carry that with me through life whether it’s through sports or with anybody I encounter.

Colscon Wiley

Mike was a tremendous mentor of mine. He (and Alex Peavey) pushed me into the field of school counseling as well as coaching. Mike always helped me understand that it’s not about the outcome of games but rather the impact that you can have on young men and that the game is just a platform to create and build meaningful relationships that last a lifetime. Today’s a great time and place where you see the lineage of family and friends coming together to play the game they love. I’m extremely grateful.

Landon Nott

Community is so important, and sports go way beyond a stick and a ball. It’s about fighting together against an opponent. With that opponent, you realize through the years that you’re good friends and that everyone’s going through the same fight. Sports gives us an outlet to be competitive and show that fight in a physical way. When that physical fight might be overwhelming later in life, you can always rely on the community you played with in the past. It’s been incredibly powerful to see this community come together in so many ways. I’m just honored to be part of this and honored to have the dad that I did.

John Thompson

Mike Thompson is a hero of mine and somebody who taught me a lot about how to live life and how to compete with all my abilities. To him, it was about competing the right way and leaving it all on the field. He cared more about competing with class that he did about winning.

Michael Jarvis

I remember Mike filling in as a substitute teacher, and every time he did, the class just lit up. We knew we were going to have a chance to connect with somebody who cared deeply about us and would equip us with skills to attack both the best days and the hardest days. He perpetually equipped us with stories, anecdotes, tools, and practices to take care of ourselves and take care of each other in a meaningful way. Mike was one of the greatest teachers of life. He had the range of gentleness, grace, tenacity, and competitiveness. When you think of fight and smile, that’s Mike.

Jake McDonald

Very early in my coaching career, Mike was incredibly gracious with his time and support as I tried to figure out the best way to do things here at Collegiate. He helped me create a path forward for the program and reminded me of what a gift it is to have a chance to positively influence others through a game I love.

Andrew Stanley

Mike changed the trajectory of my life. When I first came to Collegiate as boys basketball coach, some of the guys were coming to me for non-basketball reasons, for counseling reasons. I went to Mike and said, “What do I do?” He said, “What are you doing?” I said, “I’m listening.” He said, “Keep doing that. That’s why they’re coming to you.” He taught me to listen. It wasn’t long after that that he came to me and said, “Hey, Alex, how about you take my job. I’m going to leave Collegiate and go into private practice. We need someone in this seat.” It was the seat he created. I could not have been more honored to sit it in after him. I couldn’t be more grateful to have Mike as part of my life.

Alex Peavey

~Weldon Bradshaw

Back