Raising generations of cricket, track and field athletes, Bassett Thompson

Generations of track and field athletes have been welcomed to the Armory by the friendly face of Bassett Thompson who has been director of track and field here since 2011.

“There is no other person that I can think of involved with high school track in the United States that is more recognizable to kids and their families (than Thompson),” said Jonathon Schindel, Armory co-president.

On a weekly basis, parents who met Thompson as high school athletes tap his shoulder to introduce him to their children taking part in meets at the Armory.

Knowledgeable of the nuances of track and field, Thompson keeps the Armory a well-oiled machine for its 105 track meets to go off without a hitch every year.

“Bassett does a great job of putting everybody at ease and solving problems as they arise,” Schindel said.

Described as an “oasis in the city” by Thompson, the Armory welcomes all ages, from kids as young as six through seniors looking to keep active.

“The Armory provides a safe haven for a lot of kids,” Thompson said. “In the winter there’s not too many places to go, and the Armory provides that place for them.”

The Armory is more than just a place where athletes go to compete. High school student athletes that train at the Armory are encouraged by staff to participate in its college prep program.

The free, year-round program involves a diagnostic test to evaluate strengths and weaknesses academically and helps students set collegiate goals for themselves.

“In the last seven years we’ve gotten 100 percent of our seniors into four-year colleges,” Schindel said.

On average, participating students have entered college with a scholarship and grant package equal to more than 70 percent of their full four-year room, board and tuition.

It started about 18 years ago for high school athletes, but seven years ago the Armory decided to expand the age range for college prep to include fourth grade through twelfth grade students. The connections students make at the Armory also help them obtain internships and jobs after college.

The Elmont local immigrated to the United States in 1973 with his family when he was 15 years old. Thompson had grown up in Jamaica playing cricket throughout his youth and even played on the country’s national under-19 team.

Coming to the United States was not his choice, and he felt held back athletically since cricket was not as popular in America as it was in Jamaica.

When his family moved to New York in January, Thompson found the 7 degrees Fahrenheit weather “miserable” when he got off the plane.

“I thought I was going to die instantly,” Thompson said.

Since his initial brisk encounter with the state, Thompson has come to love New York and wouldn’t live anywhere else.

Since there was no cricket team in New York when he moved, Thompson left the sport behind for the time being and joined the track team at his high school.

Later in life, he would go on to be inducted into the international cricket hall of fame in 2016.

“It means so much to me, because I’m alongside these guys that I grew up idolizing, you know the famous cricketers of the world,” Thompson said. “And now we’re in the same fraternity.”

Thompson also managed the United States national under-19 cricket team in 2020 and 2021.

Since 2007, he has been the only commissioner of cricket in the country managing the Public Schools Athletic League in New York City. The cricket league in New York City started with just 14 teams in 2008 but now has nearly 40 teams participating.

“New York is a melting pot, and we have people from everywhere in New York City,” Thompson said. “A lot of them are from cricket playing countries. So, it caught on.”

New York remains the only city in the United States to have cricket as a varsity-level sport.

Known as the world’s second most popular sport, cricket has gained traction in New York. Mayor Eric Adams proposed a stadium be built in the Bronx for the 2024 Cricket World Cup which is still subject for approval.

Well known in the spheres of cricket, track and field, Thompson has been described with a lot of passion and knowledge for the sports.

“From 6 to 18 years old, he’s really the heart of what we do here (at the Armory),” Schindel said.

His love of the sport bled into his daughters Candice, Cherisse and Christal who all ran track in high school and college. One of his daughters credits her time running track in college for preparing her to work as a nurse.

“She says track and field was such a discipline sport to her, that she can relate almost every day something track and field to her nursing career,” Thompson said.

With all that he has accomplished with the sports of cricket and track and field, Thompson said he feels blessed to do what he loves every day.

“For me personally, I think the sports Gods love me more than anybody else,” he said. “To make a living doing what you love the most in all this world, it’s perfect.”