Thompson actually burns the candle at three ends. When he gets up in the morning and looks at himself in the mirror, he sees the tennis pro at the Country Club of Salisbury. But he also sees the men’s and women’s coach at Catawba College, the school which is hosting the annual South Atlantic Conference Spring Sports Festival.

Juggling all three has not put him in a rubber room from overwork. It has not put him in bed with exhaustion. This is tennis, a game he has devoted his life to. He enjoys it. And he enjoys winning.

Therefore, he will accept nothing less at Catawba.

His work was cut out for him after last season. The women’s team was, well, not very good. The men’s team was competitive but never a serious challenger.

Today, however, people are looking at Catawba tennis as a threat. The men, despite losing to Gardner-Webb 5-3, finished 10-8 and have all but one senior back. The women defeated Wingate Tuesday and won three matches against No. 1 Presbyterian with a lineup dominated by freshmen. It was to play Carson-Newman for third place today, a spot unheard of until Thompson arrived.

He spurred the turnaround with a style that leaves players feeling good about themselves.

“Jack strives for the best,” said Liz Taylor, a former No. 1 at juggernaut Salisbury High, who transferred to Catawba from Clemson this year. “He’s not negative at all. He keeps lifting you up even if you’re losing. He cares about the players.”

Alex Luc, a freshman from Thompson’s hometown of Norfolk, is one of two freshmen from Virginia. He has made the transition to a small city, to eating a lot of North Carolina fried chicken and to Thompson. “He’s pretty enthusiastic,” said Luc.

n

But perhaps Thompson’s real asset in Catawba’s resurgence is a keen eye for tennis talent. Getting Taylor and the Evan Bolling-Luc connection is proof of that.

Taylor played club tennis at Clemson and actually made the finals at No. 1. When she announced she was coming home, Thompson was elated.

“She was my first lesson when I moved to Salisbury in 1990,” said Thompson. “I’ve seen her grow up.”

“He has been my only coach since I was six,” said Taylor. “He became my high school coach and now, he’s my college coach. It’s kinda weird.”

Weird or not, Taylor responded with a 7-3 mark at No. 3 going into the festival.

“I just wanted a smaller school and I missed playing for a real team,” said Taylor.

She quickly remembered Thompson’s workouts.

“That was the toughest part,” Taylor laughed. “I wasn’t used to that at Clemson. On the club team, it was three times a week. It’s harder than high school, too, with his conditioning and drilling. He keeps us in shape.”

n

Thompson admits reviving the women was harder than the men. Attitude was the big problem.

“It was a lot of pep talks,” he said. “The attitudes are much better now.”

The women were 13-11 going into today. Taylor will join other freshmen in No. 1 Gina Ayala, No. 4 Taryn Gordon and No. 5 Ashlee Cooke, along with junior Claire Carson and sophomore Meredith Davine in giving Catawba a solid future, forcing the other SAC teams to take notice.

“They all thought we were going to be pushovers,” Taylor said. “But we came out and showed them. We’ve got the talent and I can see big things coming.”

n

Thompson used that keen eye and a little luck to land Bolling.

Despite being among the top 10-12 players in Virginia as a prep senior, he was overlooked in the small town of Parisburg, whose population is only 2,500.

“A friend in Roanoke, whose word is gold, said there was a guy who hadn’t been looked at seriously and someone needed to,” recalled Thompson.

During the coaching change, Bolling’s recruiting film had been tucked away in a drawer. Thompson didn’t know it was there until it was handed to him.

“And I immediately called him,” he said.

Just like that, Thompson had a Division I player at his Division IIschool. Luc quickly joined him.

“The school sold them,” Thompson said, referring to the pretty campus and the academic opportunities. “We had such a devoted, emotionally-mature team, that sold them too.”

n

And, of course, the coach had something to do with it.

“I try to keep everybody confident and playing hard,” said Thompson, whose goal is to make Catawba tennis — both genders — a national contender.

Hey, why not?

Neither squad won the South Atlantic Conference title this week. But you can bet when Jack Thompson goes home tonight and his college season is completed, he’ll look in the mirror and not see a man tired of tennis or just plain tired.

He’ll see a guy who has a burning desire to start working toward next season — tomorrow.

n