The Thompson Warriors have consistently been a force to be reckoned with in Class 7A over the past five years, but that growth wasn't rewarded with a playoff berth until last year.

That was when a strong group of players developed by Alex Levinson coincided with an area shakeup that paved the way for a runner-up spot out of Class 7A, Area 5.

Now that the playoff drought is gone and the Warriors are expected to be one of the top teams in both the area and state, the team believes now is the time to take that next step toward contending for a state championship.

"I think that that's our goal here is it's not reaching a new expectation, but having a standard," Thompson head boys soccer coach Greg Vinson said. "And I think the last couple years, it's been building into this year. Now, we made a run into the playoffs, but now it's time to be that consistent team that battles for a state championship every year, and that's our goal. It's not about this win or that win. It's about being the consistent team that's there at the end of the season every year."

However, this team isn't without its changes, most notably at top. Levinson stepped aside over the offseason to allow Vinson, his former coach at Birmingham-Southern, to take the reins as head coach, with tactical specialist Cesar Rivas elevated to associate coach to reflect his growing responsibilities with the team.

Vinson's role as an assistant for two seasons, not to mention the years Levinson spent learning tactics and culture-building from him as a player and assistant, meant there wasn't a huge difference for the players.

"I would say that it's definitely a different environment, because now you have a different person yelling at you every practice for 10 weeks," junior goalkeeper Alex Casillas said. "So, it's definitely like a different perspective but for the most part, still very focused and it's all going towards the same goal."

However, training has taken a slightly more refined approach with Vinson at the helm, mainly due to the players' experience in the system. It means more fine-tuning of the little details instead of teaching completely new tactics.

"I think it's become just a little bit more detail-focused, because last year we were working on building expectations for how the players acted in practice, and now we're able to focus on the details of what we do in practice overall," Hudson Aaron said.

That continued growth is stemmed in the culture that Levinson, Vinson and Rivas have built over the last few years. Continuity within the coaching trio has allowed the foundation to be constant, and now Rivas sees a hunger for more as they not only keep the culture alive but aim to elevate the standard further.

"I would say the biggest strength is our culture, since it's now year three with coach Levinson, when he first started building that culture and foundation, and now coach Vinson stepping in, it's nurturing that foundation and culture," Rivas said. "And this team is, like Vinson was saying about just training sessions being very hungry, I think that that's our driving force with this team."

The foundation of that starts with 11 seniors on this year's team. The Warriors also return six starters, including some of their most dynamic players.

The scoring starts with Aram Arreola, a sophomore forward who broke out in 2025 for 18 goals and 13 assists to make the All-State and All-County Second Teams. His experience and success against 7A competition will be crucial going into this year.

The biggest questions come in the back, where defenders Erick Huerta and Dylan Ruiz were included in the eight graduating seniors last year and a starting spot at goalkeeper was vacated.

Aaron and Cole Medina will step up into those veteran leadership spots to drive the team forward, and Casillas will take over as the No. 1 goalkeeper and see his role in the team increase as a junior.

Despite those key losses in the back, Vinson isn't concerned about new leaders stepping up because he sees the upperclassmen taking the initiative on the pitch and serve as an extension of the coaching staff. He believes turning this group into a player-driven team will help take it over the top.

"We have just a huge amount of experience, but more importantly, the leadership element of it I think is what really is going to guide this team," Vinson. "The conversations we have and hear our players having on the field where the coaches aren't having to have those conversations, and that's where the magic starts. So we're seeing that in this team, great group of seniors, great group of underclassmen that have a lot of experience. It's really shaping up to be a very player-driven team that knows what's expected of them and knows how to put it together on the field."

For Aaron, it's about going hard in reps and setting examples for the rest of the team that they should fight as hard for their spots in the starting lineup as the older players are.

Player-driven leadership wasn't always a hallmark of the team going back to before Levinson took over, but Medina has seen that growth over the last few years and says this team does it better than anyone else.

"Coach Levinson really said his first year, there was really nobody that did that," Medina said of players stepping up as leaders. "And I feel like last year was really a change to that, and this year even more so."

While the goal is a state title, the coaching staff is preaching that the players take it one game at a time. With a schedule as difficult as Thompson's, that approach is much needed.

The Warriors kick off the year with a Southern Shootout pool of Spanish Fort, Daphne and hosts Foley and Lakeshore Shootout matchups with perennial contenders Huntsville and Northridge. They'll also face David DiPiazza's Vestavia Hills in the Warrior Invitational ahead of non-area trips to Mountain Brook on March 17 and Homewood on March 19.

The first two weeks of March and April will bring the ever-crucial area matchups, but none take as prominent of a position as the home-and-away with Prattville. Thompson will hit the road to face the defending area champs and quarterfinalists on March 12 ahead of hosting the Lions on April 16 to close out area play.

Aaron believes focusing on details will help them prevail in their tougher matchups, especially mentally.

"We had a lot of errors on mental mistakes," Aaron said of last year. "I mean, in Homewood, we couldn't clear the ball, so that became a focus. So it's just fixing the tiny details. And, everybody wanting it like in a dangerous area, so that way we just don't have these lapses where we're just losing a game or getting flustered with each other. So that way, we just stay driven on this just being the next game."

Even with a challenging road ahead, the Warriors are confident in their group and putting in the work to reach their goals. After getting a taste of the playoffs last year, Vinson said the players are hungry to get back and go further, and he's excited to see what they're capable of.

"It's a great group," Vinson said. "They're super hungry. Our training sessions in the offseason have just been, I think hunger is the right word. It's just got an edge to it. And we're excited to let them loose for the season."