COEUR d'ALENE - On the sidelines of a soccer field at the Bill Eisenwinter Hot Shot Tournament, Ken Thompson is in his element.

The 35-year-old coach, now living in Liberty Lake, Wash., grew up playing the game. He starred on the Coeur d'Alene Sting soccer club - coached by his father, Ken Sr. - led his Coeur d'Alene High School squad to a state title in 1993, and helped take Division II Seattle Pacific University to the national semifinals his freshman year.

Thompson's collegiate career peaked at Division I Gonzaga University in Spokane, where he played forward for two years. An excellent passer, he was the setup man for the Bulldogs, a fast and cagey offensive weapon.

"Get the ball, beat someone, pass it off - or get the ball, beat someone, get fouled," is how Thompson described his contributions.

After a winning season, Gonzaga tied for the WCC title when Thompson was a senior. But the Bulldogs lost the tiebreaker and didn't make the NCAA tournament.

Next season Thompson returned to the Sting, this time as an assistant coach. He was very skilled, had D1 experience on his resume, and the kids learned a lot from him.

"I've always loved coaching, loved the game," Thompson said. "When you're 22, and you start out with high school kids, it's a lot of fun to be an assistant and play with the guys."

The transition from player to bench boss was all but seamless. Before long, he was a successful head coach guiding his own teams.

These days, Thompson is the Sting's director of coaching, one of the program's main leaders.

"I think some of the big things that Ken brings to the game is just the knowledge of the game," said Sting President Rob Rollins. "He stays on top of what's happening in the soccer world. And he can bring that back to the Sting organization."

At this year's Hot Shot Tournament, Thompson is head coach of the Sting U-15 boys team and an assistant with an U-13 girls crew. Contested at multiple venues in the Coeur d'Alene area, the weekend tourney boasts 151 teams from across the Northwest.

"There's a few age groups that have five or six teams from Montana, three or four from Canada, and good local representation," Thompson said.

The Sting soccer club fields about 340 kids on 24 teams, ranging from U-10 to U-20.

Coaching is a major strength of the program, Thompson said. Throughout the club, nearly 20 head and assistant coaches have college-level playing experience, while nine or 10 have coached college-level teams.

Sting coach Dan Hogan, for instance, heads the North Idaho College women's team. Mike Thompson, Ken's brother, is an assistant on the Gonzaga men's team, and Shea Swoboda is on the staff of the women's squad.

"What's really cool is we have a lot of people involved that grew up playing Sting," Thompson said. "We've got a pretty big group that played Sting and are now coaching."

Thompson is popular among parents, kids and fellow coaches. Trim and fit, he can still hold his own out on the pitch, too.

"I've heard nothing but positive remarks," Rollins said. "(The younger players) look forward to being coached by Kenny. We are very fortunate to have him."