Courtney Lynn Thompson (born November 4, 1984) is an American former professional

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

player who played as a setter for the

United States women's national volleyball team The United States women's national volleyball team participates in international volleyball competitions and friendly games, and is governed by USA Volleyball. Their last head coach was three-time Olympic gold medalist and retired dominant be ...

. She won the 2005 national championship while playing for the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

, and she set an NCAA record in career assists per game. Thompson won gold with the national team at the 2014 World Championship, silver at the 2012 London Summer Olympics, and bronze at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.

Career

High school

Thompson attended Kentlake High School, where she played on the volleyball team and won three state titles. She was named the Washington State Player of the Year in 2002."Courtney Thompson"
. gohuskies.com. Retrieved August 12, 2012.

College

Thompson played for the University of Washington volleyball team from 2003 to 2006. As a freshman, she started all 32 of the team's matches and set a school single-season record with 1,590 assists. She also led the Pac-10 in assists per game and was named to the Pac-10 All-Freshman team. The following year, Thompson broke the school record again with 1,643 assists, leading the conference in assists per game for the second straight time. She made the AVCA All-American first team and the Pac-10 All-Conference first team. In 2005, Thompson averaged 14.89 assists per game to lead the nation in that category. She also set a University of Washington school record with 4,841 career assists. The Huskies won the NCAA Division I national championship."Courtney Thompson"
teamusa.org. July 1, 2012. Retrieved August 12, 2012. For the second straight year, Thompson was named to the AVCA All-American first team and the All-Pac-10 first team. She also made the NCAA Championship All-Tournament team, won the

Honda Sports Award The Honda Sports Award is an annual award in the United States, given to the best collegiate female athlete in each of twelve sports. There are four nominees for each sport, and the twelve winners of the Honda Sports Award are automatically in t ...

, and was nominated for an

ESPY The ESPY Awards (short for Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Awards, and often referred to as the ESPYs) is an annual American awards show produced by ESPN since 1993, recognizing individual and team athletic achievement and other sports-r ...

as the Top Female College Athlete. In 2006, her senior year, Thompson again led the nation in assists per game, with 14.50. She ended her college career with 6,531 career assists, which was a Pac-10 record. Her career mark of 14.56 assists per game was a new NCAA record. For the third year in a row, she was named to the AVCA All-American first team and the All-Pac-10 first team.

International

Thompson joined the U.S. national team in January 2007. That year, she played in all five matches of the Pan American Games and helped the U.S. win the bronze medal. In 2009, Thompson played in 82 sets. She appeared in the Pan American Cup, the FIVB World Grand Prix, and the NORCECA Continental Championship. She averaged 3.72 assists per set. Thompson received limited playing time with the U.S. from 2010 to 2012. She helped the team win the bronze medal in the 2010 Pan American Cup, the bronze medal in the 2011 Pan American Games, and the gold medal in the 2012 FIVB World Grand Prix. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, Thompson and the U.S. national team won the silver medal. Thompson was part of the USA national team that won the 2014 World Championship gold medal when the team defeated China 3-1 in the final match. Thompson won the bronze medal at the 2015 FIVB Club World Championship, playing with the Swiss club Voléro Zürich.

Post-competitive career

Extending work that Thompson did following her competitive athletic career, launching Courtney Thompson's Mind.set Training, Thompson joined Compete to Create and started as an author and performance coach across motivational programs. Since 2019, Thompson has published multiple thought leadership posts on determination and athletic preparation and coaches professionals as a mindset coach in programs for High Performance Mindset and about "Grit" and "Trust" in courses on Finding Your Best. Courtney worked with Dr. Michael Gervais during her time as a competitive athlete and now works for Compete to Create, the coaching and training firm co-founded by Dr. Gervais, as a Mindset Coach relating critical experiences from her olympic career to professionals.

Coaching

On April 19, 2021,

Stanford Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth governor of and th ...

announced it would be adding Thompson onto their coaching staff as an assistant coach on their women's volleyball team. Thompson replaced Alisha Glass Childress.

Personal life

Thompson was born in

Bellevue, Washington Bellevue ( ) is a city in the Eastside (King County, Washington), Eastside region of King County, Washington, United States, located across Lake Washington from Seattle. It is the third-largest city in the Seattle metropolitan area, and the f ...

, and resides in

Kent, Washington Kent is a city in King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington, United States. It is part of the Seattle metropolitan area, Seattle–Tacoma–Bellevue metropolitan area and had a population of 136,588 as of the 2020 Unit ...

. She was the valedictorian at Kentlake High School. She has two brothers. Thompson is a member of

Athletes for Hope Athletes for Hope is a nonprofit organization that works to educate professional athletes about philanthropy, connect them with charitable causes, recognize these efforts and inspire others to get involved in the community. AFH emphasizes that its f ...

. In 2013, Courtney Thompson's journey to make the 2012 US Olympic roster was featured in Court & Spark, a one-hour documentary written and directed by Jack Hamann, featuring her experience qualifying for the US olympic team, including the difficulty of balancing personal life with world-class athletic travel. Since 2017, Thompson has taken up running and joined the Women's field for the Boston Marathon where she placed 30th with a time of 2 hours, 54 minutes and 41 seconds. In 2018, Thompson completed a 35-mile ultra-marathon in Whistler, Canada.

Awards

College

* 2006

for volleyball

Clubs

* 2015–16 Brazilian Women's Volleyball Superliga – Gold medal, with Rexona Ades Rio * 2015 FIVB Club World Championship – Bronze medal, with Voléro Zürich

National team

* 2010

FIVB World Grand Prix The FIVB Volleyball World Grand Prix was an annual women's volleyball competition created in 1993. The men's version of the competition was called FIVB Volleyball World League, World League. This event should not be confused with the other intern ...

* 2011

Pan-American Volleyball Cup Pan-American, Pan American, Panamerican, Pan-America, Pan America or Panamerica may refer to: * Collectively, the Americas: North America, Central America, South America and the Caribbean * Something of, from, or related to the Americas * Pan-Amer ...

* 2011

Pan American Games The Pan American Games, known as the Pan Am Games, is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas. It features thousands of athletes participating in competitions to win different summer sports. It is held among athletes from nations of th ...

* 2012

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, then part of the King ...

* 2013

* 2014 FIVB World Championship * 2015

* 2015 FIVB Women's World Cup * 2015 Women's NORCECA Volleyball Continental Championship * 2016 Women's NORCECA Olympic Qualification Tournament * 2016

* 2016

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, Courtney 1984 births Living people Volleyball players at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists for the United States in volleyball Washington Huskies women's volleyball players Sportspeople from Bellevue, Washington Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics American women's volleyball players Volleyball players at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in volleyball Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Setters (volleyball) American expatriate sportspeople in Switzerland Expatriate volleyball players in Switzerland Volleyball players at the 2007 Pan American Games Volleyball players at the 2011 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2007 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2011 Pan American Games Pan American Games bronze medalists for the United States in volleyball Stanford Cardinal women's volleyball coaches American volleyball coaches 21st-century American sportswomen