Goodbye Sharon, and Thank you

by Ryan Krzykowski

Community for Coaches was born in 2012, and as we were getting started we needed to build a support team, people who would be advocates, believing in the work we were called to.  These early advocates included Kenton and Sharon Thompson.  I’ll always remember the evening I met with the two of them in their basement, stumbling over my words as I struggled to paint a picture of what we hoped and believed CFC could become, and how there was immediate buy-in on their part.  Kenton and Sharon were fully on board, and might have understood CFC and the impact we could have better than I did at the time.  Their enthusiasm for this work was one of the greatest encouragements I could have asked for in those early days. 

Fast forward a few years, and CFC had gained traction in a number of schools and clubs throughout the KC area.  We were growing, meeting with coaches individually, in small groups and conducting large workshops.  We were also planning some big events — in 2014 we held our first KC Metro Coach of the Year event, and in 2015 we planned a major fundraiser dinner/auction at downtown KC’s College Basketball Experience.  Those events never would have happened if not for Sharon Thompson.  Months earlier, my very wise wife told me of a conversation she’d had with Sharon, and asked what I thought about the possibility of Sharon coming to work for CFC as an event coordinator.  Sharon’s heart for our work combined with her talent and passion for planning and hosting events seemed like an outstanding potential fit.  We decided to go for it — in 2015 Sharon joined our team and for the next four years our public events were just slamming good.  We got a message out in front of a whole lot of people and we had a fantastic time doing it.  Alec Lemmon joined our team right around the same time as Sharon, while Matt Williams had been with us for a couple years already, and the four of us had something special.  Even after Matt moved on, the team functioned beautifully together and I’ll always be grateful and remember those days extremely fondly.  In addition to the Coach of the Year celebration and Fall Dinner/Auction, we added Trivia Nights, Team Bowling Nights and a summer golf scramble to our events calendar.  It was a lot, and Sharon really made it all go.  Working together with our board and her nearly constant companion Patty Triplett, I’ve honestly never seen anything like it.  What a whirlwind of a team they all made.

In more recent years, after a pandemic reduced our number of events, Sharon and Kenton let us know that because of health concerns, along with the diminished demand for events, she was going to be stepping away from the job.  That was disappointing but understandable.  But even after “retiring” from CFC, no one was a bigger fan and supporter than Sharon Thompson.  She was extremely involved, helping wherever possible and always asking me questions about how things were going and where we were headed next.  Sharon made it impossible for me to ever be discouraged or wonder about the impact of our work — constantly reminding me that she saw God’s hand all over what we’re doing.  I need to remember that.

On July 1, we lost Sharon suddenly and unexpectedly.  My family and I are still reeling.  To us, Sharon was much more than the former events coordinator for Community for Coaches.  At her memorial service, it was incredibly clear that Sharon had a unique ability and capacity to love people.  She is quite simply one of the greatest and most generous friends our family has ever known, and my only reluctance in writing this post is a fear that my words will fail to do justice to her memory.  But hopefully, though inadequate, these words convey something of the gratitude and appreciation this ministry and everyone involved has for our dear friend, Sharon Thompson.  We love and miss you, Sharon.  Thank you for playing such a critical and foundational role in this effort.

Let’s Coach With Purpose…