The way Will and Sara Thompson got together was a “God thing.” They met the first time December 2015 when they were both refereeing at a soccer tournament in Laurel, Mississippi. Sara’s family tried to interest her in getting to know him better, but she declared she was only focused on school, soccer, and Parker, her 1½-year-old daughter. Will looked forward to possibly seeing her again the next Christmas at the same tournament.
Sure enough, they were thrown together again December 2016. He wasted no time in asking her to attend an upcoming bowl game. Sara was nervous about being so far from home on a first date, but Sara’s sister told her that she and her boyfriend would go to the game also.
By happenstance, Sara’s sister asked a friend to purchase her tickets, while Will also asked his friend to buy their tickets. At the game, they discovered that, of all the thousands of fans seated in the stadium, their four tickets were side by side! Sara told me, “God was telling us right then that it was meant to be.” Will declared, “We knew it was part of a plan—we were going to get married!”
William Claude Thompson was born June 17, 1994, to Kenneth and Cindy Thompson. His father is recently retired from his position as head coach of the soccer program at East Central Community College, a program he had begun 22 years before. He had also begun the soccer program and coached at Newton County High School for twelve years. Will’s mother is retired after having taught at Newton County Elementary School 34 years. His twin brother Russ is an accountant who just moved to a new job in Fort Worth, Texas, while his younger brother Samm is a nurse working at Baptist Hospital.
Will is a 2012 honor graduate of NCHS, where he played soccer and tennis. He was named a Mississippi Scholar, and because of his high ACT score, he received an Eminent Scholar scholarship. He played soccer under his father at ECCC, and, a member of Phi Theta Kappa, he earned his A.A., graduating in 2014. Will attended Mississippi State University of Meridian for one year before graduating from the University of Southern Mississippi with a Bachelor’s degree in History in 2016. He was awarded his degree in Education in 2019, also earning his Master’s in Secondary Education in 2019.
Sara Kathleen Coleman Thompson, from Laurel, Mississippi, was born to Jerry and Marie Coleman on December 1, 1993. Her father works at the Hol-Mac plant in Bay Springs, in Plant 1, where he is in charge of ordering and keeping parts in stock, while her mother is a physical education teacher at West Jones Elementary. Both Sara’s parents had been track runners at USM. Her older brother Isaac is in charge of security at Esmueller, a factory in Ellisville. He is married to Bridget Dennis from Soso, Mississippi, and they have a daughter, Vera. Her younger sister Beth is married to Devin Stokley, a manager at Burroughs, a large Ellisville tire company. They have a son, Elijah.
Sara graduated Magnum Cum Laude from West Jones High School, in 2012. She had played soccer eighth through the twelfth grades and was named Miss Soccer for Mississippi in 2012. She was also Gatorade Player of the Year and Pop Star for Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame. Sara was named Miss West Jones in 2012, voted Most Athletic, and served as Secretary of the BETA Club and the senior class.
She was a University of Mississippi Magna Cum Laude graduate in spring 2016, finishing with a Bachelor’s in Elementary Education. She was a Student Athlete, inducted into the M Club, and Kappa Delta Pi. While playing soccer for five years at Ole Miss, she earned her Masters’ in Elementary Education in 2017. During 2013-2014, Sara worked at McAlister’s and took some classes at Jones, while expecting the birth of her child Parker French. Her coach at Ole Miss assured her they would take her back, in order to help her finish her degree and be able to support herself and her daughter. Her scholarships paid for both her degrees. She has been featured on two separate videos by ESPN. Also, the NCAA did an article on Sara and Parker.
Answering little Parker’s prayer when she was two, Will and Sara were married June 9, 2018, when she was four. Parker loved cows and prayed for her Mommy to meet a prince who had cows! Will’s family has cows. They moved into a house in Decatur. Their baby girl Coleman was born December 26, 2020, the day after Christmas, one month early. Parker had been two months early. The last birth revealed that Sara had inherited a blood clotting disorder called Factor 5 from her father.
Will taught Spanish and coached soccer one year at NCHS and now teaches government and economics while coaching. Sara has helped Will coach boys’ soccer four years, and was assigned this year to start girls’ volleyball and coach girls’ soccer. With both having their masters’ degrees, I asked if they would eventually want to coach at the college level, to which Sara answered, “We like what we do,” and Will agreed.
Sara was brought up in Life Church in Laurel. Her mother homeschooled her to her fourth year. Her grandmother was a missionary to Africa, and her parents were children’s pastors, with a ministry that went from church to church, running VBS, presenting Bible skits and doing puppets. Sara told me, “I always believed. At six or seven years old, I gave my life to Christ. They let my dad baptize me.”
When Parker was born, Sara felt ashamed and embarrassed to go to church in Laurel. Her pastor called her one day, saying, “Don’t be ashamed. You made a mistake, but we love you and will love your daughter when she gets here. You’re covered by the blood of Jesus.” He reassured her of God’s love for her, and the church gave her a baby shower and showed their love. She began attending church at Ole Miss more often and was more dedicated. She said, “Having Parker made me a better person.” It matured her, and she said, “It wasn’t about me, but later it made Parker know she was not a mistake and that I loved her.”
The young Thompsons are busy at Clarke-Venable Baptist Church, where Sara teaches third and fourth grade girls and Will teaches first and second grade boys. Will says, “My gift is trying to lead by example.” The team prays after soccer practice and before games. He was brought up in Clarke-Venable where his family were active members. He told me, “My brother and I had been talking about it, and we decided to go down together to be saved. We were in about the second grade.” He continued, “Since then, as I got older, I realized I needed to reaffirm my faith…After I met Sara, I’ve become closer and more dedicated, and we’re always in church.”
Live for Jesus! He’s coming soon! You may contact me at lagnesrussell@gmail.com or 601-635-3282.
