Tim Thompson Part Two

Thompson steps toward youth ministry amid off-season football controversy

By Jesse F. McClure | Published 05/29/2008 | Sports | Unrated

Thompson steps toward youth ministry amid off-season football controversy Former high school football coach Tim Thompson believes he can connect with the youngsters in the neighborhoods surrounding Cathedral of God Holy Word Temple in North Memphis and help in reducing drug use, gang membership and criminal activity. (Photos by Warren Roseborough) In the sanctuary of the Cathedral of God Holy Word Temple in North Memphis, Tim Thompson started to talk about doors last week. “As one door closes another one opens,” said Thompson, whose name for years has been associated with the words football and coach. The “old door” was his position as interim – on track to be fulltime – football coach at Ridgeway High School. The “new door” is the one that leads to youth ministry in North Memphis. Thompson believes he can connect with the youngsters in the neighborhoods surrounding Cathedral of God Holy Word Temple and help in reducing drug use, gang membership and criminal activity. He is confident that he has the charisma and coaching skills to turn lives around.” Such work will be much more rewarding than coaching football, said Thompson at a press conference he called to shed light on a predicament that lead to the closing of door number one. Ridgeway Principal Jim Long decided not to let Thompson coach football this fall after an investigation revealed that students from other schools participated in spring football practices. Thompson said he has been “betrayed and misled” by the Ridgeway administration. According to Thompson, an administrator at Ridgeway High School approved letting students who were enrolling at the school in August participate in spring football practice. He said that four students who were not enrolled at Ridgeway practiced with the Roadrunners’ squad during spring practice. Thompson said that he was volunteering his time as coach until August when he expected to join the faculty as a fulltime teacher and coach. He said current Ridgeway staff members were also involved with the off-season football practices and determination of which students were eligible to participate in the spring drills. Thompson said “I don’t take the full blame” in reference to an ineligible players controversy that derailed his plans to take over as Ridgeway High School head football coach. “I don’t take the full blame,” he said. Calls to Ridgeway and Memphis City Schools officials had not been returned by press time on Wednesday. Thompson said the loss of the Ridgeway job was tied to his previous problems as head football coach at Melrose High School. In 2001, the Memphis City Schools suspended Thompson for three years for accepting $1,400 from a University of Kentucky assistant football coach. Thompson said Ridgeway administrators at first time told him that letting non-Ridgeway students practice was not a big problem. Principal Long told him “not to worry about it,” he said. Thompson won two state football championships while coaching at Melrose High School, with a number of players going on to the National Football League. Part of the Ridgeway problem was that so many young men wanted to play for him, he said. At his news conference, Thompson said he was unaware that the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is investigating him for financial irregularities while he was coaching at Fayette Ware High School. According to a local news report, a parent of one of Thompson’s football players accused the coach of charging players for athletic equipment and the district Attorney General’s office has confirmed the investigation. Thompson said he did nothing wrong in his three years at Fayette Ware High. Although he said he has not been banned from future coaching positions in the Memphis City Schools, Thompson said he is moving on. Rev. Libra Mitchell is the senior pastor of the Cathedral of God Holy Word Temple and the sister of Thompson, one of the most successful high school football coaches in Memphis history. He won’t be alone. His sister, Rev. Libra Mitchell, is the senior pastor of the Cathedral of God Holy Word Temple – the base from which Thompson plans to extend his life into the North Memphis community.

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Tim Thompson Returns to Memphis High School Football

A saga of twists & turns

By Jesse F. McClure | Published 4/17/2008 | Sports

A saga of twists & turns Tim Thompson’s ready to write Ridgeway High School chapter Tim Thompson tells his new Ridgeway team how you start off being raw meat, but you become well done after hard work, such as his former Melrose High School player, Cedric Wilson (right), who has played with the San Francisco 49ers and the Pittsburgh Steelers in the NFL. (Photo by Warren Roseborough) Let’s start with the numbers: 2, 77, 17, 7, 3, and 1,400. The common denominator is Tim Thompson, the new football coach at Ridgeway High School. One of the most successful high school football coaches in Memphis history, Thompson’s Melrose High School teams won two state championships and once finished as the runner-up. The record reads 77 games and only 17 losses in seven years as coach. A Melrose graduate, Thompson takes great pride in his success and readily acknowledges that his life has taken some severe twists and turns in recent years. In 2001, he was suspended for three years from coaching for accepting $1,400 from a coach at the University of Kentucky. No argument from Thompson. What he did was improper he said, noting only that the money was for his assistant coaches who helped him in a summer football camp. He left the Memphis City Schools system and for several years was a motivational speaker and ran football camps. “In 1996, the Melrose football team won their first state championship, which brought the pride, dignity and togetherness back in the community. So the drug dealers, gang members, doctors, and lawyers would sit in the stands and chant, ‘I love Orange Mound.’ The crime rate went down, school attendance went up, game attendance went from 2,000 to 10,000 and 30,000 attended their state championship games.” – Introduction, page 6 “I never had a relationship with my father that I always wanted. As a young male child growing up, there were many questions I wanted to ask my father that I could not ask my mother. But my father was not there. Yet to this day I still love my father.” – Chapter 3, “The Dark Side,” page 25 “I had to instill in my players that life was not about excuses, but about how to succeed against all odds.” – Chapter 8, “How to Win Against All Odds,” page 66 Thompson also spent time writing. His book, “The Tim Thompson, Story, Winning Against All Odds” details his life as a youngster in Memphis and his coaching career. Some involved in the scenario that led to Thompson’s demise have moved on to positions that have paid them a lot of money. Thompson said he is not bitter about that part, recognizes the mistakes he has made and has learned from them. He said he shares his story with his players so they can learn to rebound from difficult times. A success formula At Ridgeway, Thompson succeeds Joe Lee Dunn, who left to become the key defensive coach at New Mexico State University. For many years, Dunn was an assistant coach at universities such as Ole Miss, Mississippi State and the University of Memphis. He coached Ridgeway one season, with his team notching a five-win, six-loss record. Last year, Thompson coached Fayette Ware High School in rural West Tennessee, where his team finished with 7 wins and five losses. Thompson won 17 games in his three years at Fayette Ware and took his team to the high school play-offs twice. In the three years before Thompson became coach, Fayette Ware had won 1 game and lost 28 straight. Thompson is confident that he has more players in the National Football League than any other high school coach in America. He points to Cedric Wilson, most recently of the Pittsburgh Steelers; Kindal Moorehead of the Carolina Panthers; Dwayne Robertson of the New York Jets; and Andre Lott of the Chicago Bears. He is just as proud of the dozens who earned college scholarships. Thompson’s favorite former player is, Anthony Hall, who now is the new coach at Fayette Ware High School. He said Hall overcame many difficulties and got his degree at Stillman College. He later became one of Thompson’s trusted assistant coaches. A deeply religious man, the most important quality that Thompson said He tries to teach his players is respect for themselves and others. “The mind is often more important than the body in building a winning team (at the high school level),” he said. You have to take a big step to get into the NFL, and a bigger one to get to the Pro Bowl, said Coach Tim Thompson. Thompson tries to create a feeling of family among members of the team. His other “secret,” he said, is to coach teams to play exciting football. That means a wide-open style that players love to play and fans flock to see. At Ridgeway, Thompson plans to follow the same plan he used at Melrose and Fayette Ware. He points to the small towns in East Tennessee whose teams are often at the top of high school football rankings. In those small towns, he said, there is a strong sense of community with a town full of support. That’s the way it was in Orange Mound for Melrose, he said. He’s out to prove it can happen at Ridgeway.

P-e-r-f-e-c-t: The Lady Saluqis of Southwest TN Community College

Published 02/29/2008

by Jesse McClure

Special to the Tri-State Defender

On the same day that the University of Memphis men’s basketball team lost its first game of the season, the Lady Saluqis of Southwest Tennessee Community College finished their regular season without a blemish.

With 23 wins and no losses, Southwest is now ranked No. 4 in the nation among all women’s community college teams. Postseason regional tournament play is March 4-9 in Morristown. If the Lady Saluqis capture the regional title, they will earn the right to play in the National Junior College tournament the following week in Salina, Kansas.

Southwest is guided by coach Andrea Martre, who is in her twelfth year as the coach of the Lady Saluqis. She is no stranger to winning.

Last season, Southwest finished 26-2, the best record in the college’s history. That team featured junior college All-American Ashley Shields, who scored 65 points in one game during the season. Shields led the nation in scoring and became the first community college player drafted by a WNBA team. She plays for the WNBA Houston Comets.

With Shields gone, Martre said she didn’t know what to expect of her team coming into the season. In community college sports, players stay at most two years and some play only one year. Southwest returned three starters from the 2006-07 team: Keona Brooks, Daumonique Lenhardt, and Starkitsha Luellen.

Also returning were Tiffany Simpson, Ashley Williams and Jessica Parker, with Brittany Butler, who was a redshirt last year, eligible to play.

That mix became even more potent with the addition of two newcomers: Cristal Camper, a native of Rosa Fort, Miss., transferred from Southeastern Illinois College; and former Memphis Northside High School star, Candace Rucker, who transferred from the University of Colorado. Rucker has become the team’s leading scorer and the centerpiece of the offense.

Martre said Shields was so good last year that both her teammates and opponents sometimes just stood around and watched her play. This year, while Rucker has led the team, other players have also played well, she said.

Martre played point guard for the Lady Saluqis from 1986-87. She still holds the college’s record for most steals. She went on to star at Edinboro University in Pennsylvania, where she was recently named one of the university’s all-time great players.

At Southwest, which was then called Shelby State, Martre was coached by Herb Wright, one of the most successful women’s coaches in the history of community colleges. Today when she reflects on her own coaching style, she sees Wright staring back at her.

Wright, she said, taught her about basketball, coaching and life. He also taught her to treat players as individuals and to balance “tough love” with praise.

Martre said her good fortune includes the support of Vertis Sails Jr., the legendary men’s basketball coach and athletic director at Southwest.

Sails, who has won more than 600 games in his 29 years as coach of the men’s teams at Southwest, has passed along timely coach tips.
Noting that the gymnasium bears Sails’ name, Martre laughed and said it is probably a good idea to listen him.

The only real friction between the men’s team and the women’s team at Southwest is the different choices of movies on the bus when the teams travel together on road trips, she said. The men want action and adventure movies; and the women prefer Tyler Perry films.

As regional play approaches, Martre is reminding her team that while going undefeated in the regular season is a noteworthy accomplishment, it is not a guarantee of success in the postseason.

Elderly African Americans: A Challenge to the Black Church

As African-Americans live longer there are many difficult issues that they must face. Health is a major concern for Blacks over sixty five. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that 40% of Blacks over 65 years old say their health is either poor or just fair. Money is another problem that gets worse as Blacks live longer. According to the Census Bureaus almost half of all Blacks over 65 years old are poor, or “economically vulnerable”. Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) provide one out of every two dollars for elderly African-Americans. Living longer for many people also means losing spouses, loved ones, and friends.

Governments and social service agencies have an important role to play in meeting the needs of all older Americans. Dr. Bobby Joe Saucer the former Dean of the Morehouse School of Religion in Atlanta and a retired American Baptist Church executive says the Black church must take on added responsibilities in meeting the special needs of older African-Americans. In his book, Our Help in Ages Past, Saucer identifies the many problems faced by elderly Blacks and outlines several programs that churches should create to meet these needs.

Saucer says the Black church is the place where African-Americans have always found help with their problems. The civil rights struggle was based in Black churches and led mostly by Black ministers. It is the source of comfort and support for all life changing events from birth, marriage, to death. Churches can provide help to people outside government control. And churches were the places where Blacks were welcomed, respected and held positions of leadership.

A major issue, churches must face is what Saucer calls the “Isaac Syndrome“. In the Old Testament, Isaac the son of Abraham waited until he was too old and sick to pass on his wisdom and leadership. Saucer says that churches must help their elderly members get their affairs in order. Churches should help their members create “living legacies” as well as, estate plans. Elderly Blacks need to have wills, powers of attorney and living wills so their wishes can be met if they become too ill to decide on their own.

In, Our Help in Ages Past, there is also a description of several ministries that Black churches need to consider. These include helping elderly members who are raising young children. Also there is a need to insure that older members are fully incorporated

into the life of the church and continue to be respected as valued members. Churches need to support their sick members by continuing to visit and recognize them. The church should also support members who are serving as caregivers to family and friends.

As church pastors become elderly, they too need special attention. The book quotes Dr. George E. Weaver as saying that too many Black pastors are,” too old to pastor and too poor to quit.” Many churches have not provided for pastors to survive in retirement. Churches also have often not developed younger people to succeed the pastor and other leaders to continue the church’s success.

Most importantly, Saucer says the Black Church must recognize the opportunities to serve the Black elderly. The church must also have sensitivity to the conditions of the elderly in their local communities. Finally, churches must become advocates for policies and programs that meet the needs of the Black elderly.

Our Help in Ages Past: The Black Church’s Ministry Among the Elderly is published by Judson Press.

copyright Tri-State Defender 2008

I Am Building A Program Not Just a Team

Donald Holmes, like most African-American men in Memphis has always loved basketball. Holmes is the coach of the Northside High School Lady Cougars basketball team and has been the Memphis Coach of the Year nine times. Last year the Lady Cougars were runner-ups in the Tennessee state basketball championship.

But Holmes’ first love has always been golf – the sport his father got him started in when few African-Americans played the game. He attended Mississippi Valley State University and played on the golf team there.

A two-time All-American golfer, Holmes once shook up the Mississippi golf world, forcing the state’s intercollegiate golf championship to be moved from a private to a public course to allow an African-American to play. Holmes went on to win the tournament.

After several years of trying to make a living as a golf professional, Holmes in 1987 accepted the position as the girls basketball coach at Northside High School. The program Holmes took over was not good. In his first year, Holmes’ team finished with 15 wins and 15 losses. Since then Holmes’ teams have won 20 or more games for 19 straight years.

Holmes is more proud of the success his players have had in the classroom than the games they have won. Almost all of his current team are honor roll students. The starting five players on the team have an average grade point of 4.0. Jasmine Rayner, the number one student in senior class at Northside High, is a star player for the Lady Cougars.

“Northside players know that school comes first with coach Holmes,” said Rayner.

Over the years, Lady Cougars have received scholarships from colleges across the country. Holmes’ office has photographs and posters from colleges such as The University of Memphis, Ole Miss, Jackson State, Xavier, Alabama Birmingham, Texas A&M, Mississippi State, Arkansas, Colorado and Mississippi Valley. His players have received scholarships from all of these and more. Many of his former players are now coaches and teachers at schools throughout the region.

Northside Lady Cougars coach Donald Holmes is more proud of the success his players have had in the classroom than the games they have won. (Photos by Jesse F. McClure)

“I am building a program, not just a team,” says Holmes. “(A program) helps team members become strong women, not just basketball players.”

Strong women help create strong families and strong communities is the way Holmes sees it. He loves coaching girls because they are often more receptive to coaching than boys, he says.

Each summer Holmes’ has a basketball camp. Thousands of youngsters have attended over the years. NBA star and Memphis legend Penny Hardaway has been a big supporter of Holmes’ efforts. Last summer WNBA star Ashley Shields took part in the camp.

Holmes credits his mother, who is a minister, and his father for helping him develop his passion for helping others.

Copyright Tri-State Defender 2008