CHARLES THOMPSON ST. STEPHEN'S & ST. AGNES MAN IN THE MIDDLE - ALL-MET ELITE

CHARLES THOMPSON

ST. STEPHEN'S & ST. AGNES

MAN IN THE MIDDLE

ALL-MET ELITE

ST. STEPHEN'S & ST. AGNES SCHOOL

ALEXANDRIA VA

Age:16, Height:6’7, Weight:230

1.You played on a very dominant AAU team this past spring/summer what did you learn during that time that has helped you this season at SSSAS? The biggest thing I have learned from playing with Team Takeover is adjusting to the environment. Team Takeover was filled with guys that were considered “the man” on their respective teams. I had to learn how to adjust to my role and the level of competition that we saw every night. This translated over to SSSAS when the team lost our go-to guy, Denmark Slay, and our head coach. I had to step up as a leader in a new system and it was easy thanks to Takeover.

2. You are a two sport athlete can you explain what that grind is like preparing for & playing both sports almost year round?  Physically and mentally it is a grind. You have to make your own offseason and find your own time to prepare for both. That means finding time for skill work, lifting, footwork drills and on top of that, keeping my grades up. As I have gotten older my time management skills have been better so the grind has been somewhat easier.

 3. What schools have offered you or have shown you interest for both basketball & football? For Basketball I have been offered by Columbia and Hampton University. I’m holding interest from Holy Cross, UAB, Rice, Princeton, UPENN and George Washington. For football I’ve been offered by Howard. I’m holding interest from Virginia Tech, Virginia, Maryland, Wake forest, Dartmouth, ECU, Temple, Purdue, Old Dominion, Harvard and Vanderbilt.

4. Will you pursue playing both sports in college or will you decide between the two before your senior HS. season?   I’m interested in playing both in college, however, It wouldn’t be the end of the world to only play one in college. One huge factor would be the school I choose and if they allow it or not.

5. You have gotten increasingly better each year in basketball who would you say has helped you to develop your game?  My development coach George McCullough, he’s been with me every step of the way. I owe it to him for bringing me this far. The coaches on Team Takeover are also big on development, a lot of the practices are just shooting and skill work and I also thank them for my development.

6. What are some of the things you plan to work on this upcoming summer? My shooting percentage has to get better. Even though I play the 5 and 4 I’m still pretty undersized at 6’7. Everybody these days has to be able to space the floor and shoot the three and I have to be able to do so as well. For football, I have got to get stronger and faster. My route running has improved, but I believe if I get my speed and strength up I will be unstoppable.

7. What are your team & personal goals for the remainder of this season? My team looks to win the IAC tournament this year. We believe we have a chance to beat any of the teams in the league in the championship, now it’s just about proving it. My personal goals is to be the leader that I know I can be and lead my team to a IAC and State Championship.

8. Of the two sports which one is your favorite to watch on television & which one is your favorite to play & why? That’s another tough question. With football there are so many things that the camera does not focus on, meaning you would have to look for it yourself. It’s a beautiful thing to see so many people on the same page at the same time. There’s nothing like Sunday afternoon football and seeing who’s about to carry your fantasy team to victory. Basketball is probably more fast paced and easier to watch since there is only 10 people on the court. It also comes on TV more then football does, so there is not a lot of waiting for a game to come on.