Michael Thompson, head football and basketball coach at Memorial Day School in Savannah, has never ventured far from home. He attended Memorial Day, where he played football, basketball, ran track, and played one year of baseball, then moved on to Georgia Southern University. At Georgia Southern, he was a linebacker who helped the Eagles win a pair of conference championships.
After obtaining a degree in recreation from GSU, he coached for two years at Southern before returning to his alma mater, Memorial Day. He took over the Matadors football and basketball programs then, and in a short period of time, he has taken them to the top of the GISA Class 2A heap. Thompson’s impressive resume includes three state championships in football, two in basketball, two state runners-up in football, and another in basketball. Between the two sports, Thompson has been named state coach of the year five times and region coach of the year six more times. “We’ve been able to be successful because we’ve had some continuity in our coaching staff and everyone has bought into the same philosophy. We believe in working hard and being dedicated to one another,” he says.
When Thompson came to Memorial Day, he figured he would end up coaching football and basketball. He had a strong background in both and knew he could contribute in each program. At the time, Memorial Day was known as a basketball and baseball school. The football team was relatively weak and hadn’t done very much. With basketball, he had to continue the winning tradition that had already been established. He did so, remaining uncompromising in his philosophy and demanding the best out of his players. They responded favorably and the wins came in droves. A few years after he arrived, the Matadors won their first state basketball championship in 2011. Another state championship followed in 2013.
This season, the Matadors got off to a slow start and at the time of this interview, with two weeks left in the regular season, they were sitting in fourth in the region. That’s not typical of Memorial Day basketball. Thompson believes his team will turn things around as the region tournament nears. “I believe we can win a few more games at the end of the season and head into the tournament as a first or second seed. I know we can be very successful in the tournament,” he says.
Thompson might have done his best work on the gridiron. The Matadors struggled in football before Thompson came to Memorial Day. They didn’t win many games and weren’t far removed from a win-less season when he arrived. In Thompson’s first year, he led the Matadors to a state title. Two more followed in 2009 and 2013. This season, the Matadors defeated the defending state champion Valwood Valiants in the finals. Valwood had defeated Memorial Day 13-12 on a last-second field goal in the third game of the season. “When we watched film from that game, we saw that we left a lot of points on the field and we made a lot of mistakes. We knew we could compete with them. We had to play fast and fix those mistakes,” says Thompson.
In the state championship game, which was played on a neutral field in Macon at Mercer University, Memorial Day took a 14-7 lead into the locker room at halftime. “It was a close game. We challenged our kids and made a few adjustments in the second half,” he says. In the final two periods, Memorial Day took control of the game and outscored the Valiants, 28-7, in the second half. The Matadors cruised to a 42-20 win and a third state title. In the process, they had handed the Valiants their first loss under second-year head coach Ashley Henderson. “We were able to pull away. We forced several three and outs, and then we moved the ball offensively.”
With the kind of success Thompson has experienced at Memorial Day, he will almost certainly have opportunities to coach at larger programs in the future. He says his career goals include coaching at another level, maybe even in college. Right now, he is committed to the Memorial Day program. He also knows that he still has a great deal to learn about football. “I want to keep learning the game of football and doing what’s best for this program. When I got here, we were strong in basketball and baseball. Now we’re strong in football, basketball, and baseball. We had four kids get Division I football scholarships this year. I want to keep that going here,” he says.
Michael Thompson enjoys everything about coaching. He most enjoys being around the kids. Like all good coaches, he knows that what he does is about more than just winning games. He is helping shape and mold the leaders of tomorrow, and he wants them to make good choices on and off the field. “I want my players to give everything they have when it comes to football, basketball, and life. My father gave me advice that helped me.
Coach’s Corner/Coastal Georgia/March 2014
Michael Thompson
Savannah Memorial Day School
Savannah, Georgia
Robert Preston Jr.
