Will Thompson’s Newton County boys soccer teams have been a model of consistency the past several years.

In the 2021-22 season, the Cougars finished 16-6-1 overall, 10-0 in MHSAA Region 4-4A, earning Newton County its third divisional title in a row and a Class 4A playoff berth. Newton County has only lost one Region 4-4A contest in the last three years, and the Cougars went 23-2 overall and made it to the Class 4A state title game during the 2019-20 season.

Because of the team’s consist success, Thompson has been named the Premier Preps Boys Soccer Coach of the Year.

“It’s a big honor because we have a lot of great coaches in the area,” Thompson said. “For example, (Clarkdale’s) Luke Smith was the Mississippi Association of Coaches’ All-Star coach for the South team, so to be up there and get this award amongst all my peers means a lot to me.”

Having talented players has been a key part of the Cougars’ recent success, but Thompson said the chemistry between everyone has been just as important.

“For us, it’s a bond of brotherhood,” Thompson said. “Their camaraderie is so high. I could ask these guys to lay it on the line for each other, and they’d do it. They all get along, and the guys have all bought into the way I want to play. We’re always trying to evolve, but anytime I ask them to do something, they do it without hesitation.”

Thompson just completed his fourth season as Newton County’s head coach, and he said his No. 1 goal when taking over was to instill a new mindset into the team, something he feels has been done successfully. 

“They had some rough couple of years before we got there, so we were just trying to change the mentality,” Thompson explained. “We’re confident but not cocky. We go into every game not expecting to lose, and that to me has been one of the biggest changes. We think we deserve to be playing with the big boys.”

Premier Preps selection Graham Lewis said one of the reasons Thompson gets the most out of his players is because he makes soccer such an enjoyable experience.

“He makes practice fun, and we did drills that would help us but also allow us to really enjoy the sport,” Lewis said.

Fellow Premier Preps selection Griffin Bailey said Thompson always kept things energetic and was always pushing the players in practice to be better.

“He wanted to win just as badly as we did,” Bailey said. “He wanted to get back to the state championship game like we did our sophomore year. It didn’t end like we wanted it to our junior and senior years, but we got pretty close, and we really developed as a team over time.”

While he’s honored to be named coach of the year, Thompson said nothing the Cougars have accomplished the last three seasons would be possible without his players.

“It’s a credit to my guys,” Thompson said. “I wouldn’t be here without them. My job is easy. I just tell people where to go and game plan. They’re the ones who actually execute it.”