Longtime Grace Academy coach and athletic director Leslie Compton attended the school's basketball games Friday mainly to enjoy senior night. He did not suspect it would be "an incredible, special night."
After the senior players were honored between games, the school revealed a surprise tribute to Compton for his 30 years as AD. He was given a plaque and a reception in the library, and a lot of his former players were in attendance.
"I was just stunned with how many of them were here," he said. "And many of their parents."
He had no idea about any of it.
"They got me pretty good," said Compton, who shifted last summer from the athletic department to director of advancement and development at the school.
"I was really excited about the chance for a change, and the challenge, and I'm getting to focus on things I came to enjoy most in the athletic department," he said.
He already had taken a slight step back last winter in flip-flopping with previous assistant coach Roger Edwards in the direction of the girls' basketball team. Compton helped Edwards with the Lady Golden Eagles.
Compton, 60, coached boys' soccer and later girls' soccer and also track and field for a while at the school, but coaching girls' basketball is how the 1979 Tennessee Temple University graduate is most known, starting in 1989.
Asked if he considered a gentle plea for development dollars with so many appreciative alumni present, Compton laughed and said, "It crossed my mind, but they didn't give me a microphone."
If someone had, he would "give appreciation first to the Lord for directing me here, and then to my wife and family for their support through the years," he said. "And then, of course, the players and their parents, and the administrators who have been so supportive and all my assistant coaches. Nobody accomplishes anything by themselves.
"It was just an incredible, special night that I'll never forget."