On Wednesday night, Riverside boys tennis will take on Greenwood with a spot in the Class 5-A D2 State Championship on the line. The Warriors will need all hands on deck to pull out the win.
It’s a mentality they’re quite familiar with.
The past two years, the Warriors have been “all hands on deck” in support of a coach who’s needed it most — Riverside tennis assistant coach Troy Thompson, who was diagnosed with colon cancer in the fall of 2024.
“I think my actual diagnosis came in October [2024],” said Thompson. “It took me out of coaching the girls’ tennis team that year. Chemo started for me in the spring of 2025, and my biggest thing was that I tried to be here as much as I could.
“You never know how you’re going to react when you are trying to deal with something like that. But for me, going to work and being on the court, feeling some sense of normal, that was important to me.”
Thompson is a beloved assistant coach for both the girls and boys tennis teams at Riverside, two wildly successful programs. Both have made state title appearances in the past half-decade, with the boys winning state in 2023-2024.
But Riverside’s success on the court pales in comparison to how the program has been built on love.
No greater example of that comes to mind for head coach Heather Gage than how the teams rallied around Thompson following his diagnosis.
“It’s family. Our whole culture is centered around building our program like a family,” said Gage. “Getting news like [Thompson] got, it reminds you that it’s so much more than just a game.
“It wasn’t even a second thought for the kids in our program. It was immediately ‘We need to rally around Coach Troy and his family.”
Along with offering help in any way possible, the team found several ways to publicly show support for Thompson. They spread the word and participated in “Dress Blue Day” at school to raise awareness for colon cancer. Hundreds of people at Riverside joined in with the tennis program in support.
At last year’s end-of-year Riverside sports awards banquet, Thompson was named Coach of the Year. Gage gave a tearful tribute to her coaching partner to a round of applause.
Just as recently as March, Riverside tennis players and family members participated in the Get Your Rear in Gear 5K Charity Run in Greenville, raising money to bring attention to and make colorectal cancer care more locally accessible.
Seventy-four of the 500 total runners in the event were there in support of Thompson, including over 40 Riverside tennis players and family members.
Thompson’s group was handily the largest at the race. His group raised the most money, too.
Thompson's group of supporters was by far the largest at the 2026 Get Your Rear in Gear Charity 5K, with 74 people showing up in support of the Riverside assistant coach. More than 40 were Riverside tennis players and family members.
“Coach Troy spends a lot of time being there for us, making sure we are all good,” said sophomore boys tennis player Ethan Gage. “He means a lot to this program, and so we wanted to be able to do whatever we could to be there for him.”
“The amount of love and support I felt from this team, this program, it can’t be under-emphasized,” said Thompson. “When you’re going through it, those little texts from players, seeing the kids out wearing their blue shirts in support of me, that helps you heal.”
Thompson, thankfully, did just that.
He was healed, officially cancer-free as of late 2025.
Thompson is fully back with the tennis program, and on Wednesday night, he’ll be by their side as the boys team aims for a fourth-straight Upper State Championship.
It’s an accomplishment, Heather says, that would never have been close to possible without Thompson.
“I can not coach this program the way it needs to be without Coach Troy by my side,” said Heather. “These boys respect him. They look up to him in a lot of ways.”
And Thompson’s healing? He says it likely wouldn’t have been possible without his players in his corner.
“Cancer is a grind. More than anything, it’s a grind mentally,” said Thompson. “It wears you down at times.
“But those bright spots, all of these people, this team who has had my back, that’s what gets you through it.”
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