Thomas Exudes Confidence

Matt Thomas was shooting baskets with his pastor, who marveled at the teenager's high level of expectancy for his shots to go in and to experience success in basketball.

"Matt, you're really confident," said Shannon O'Dell, who pastors Brand New Church, in Farmington.

Thomas explained he believes in his own God-given ability to excel in a sport he enjoys.

O'Dell thought about that for a moment and coined a new catch-word that has become one of Thomas' favorites, "Godfidence."

"The consensus around all my friends and people who know me is I have confidence," Thomas said.

This was a character trait that prompted Farmington boys basketball coach Beau Thompson to insert Thomas into the starting varsity lineup as a freshman. Thompson told the press there weren't many freshmen he would trust with the basketball with the game on the line. Yet, Thomas had earned his trust with the basketball in his hands as much as any player Thompson had coached. Thomas scored 1,434 points in three seasons at Farmington before deciding to transfer to Pea Ridge at the end of his junior season.

"He would have been Farmington's all-time leading scorer had he stayed," Thompson said, recalling Thomas made his exit with class, "He did it the right way."

Thomas moved in with his father, Jerry Thomas, at Pea Ridge and found a warm welcome. Father and son went out to eat at the Cannonball Cafe, "Everybody noticed us when we walked in," Thomas said.

After taking their order, the waitress asked, "Are you Matt Thomas?"

When Thomas said, "Yeah," the waitress told him, "We're so happy that you're here."

"It made me feel great," Thomas said. "Not all towns are like that. It felt like home."

Thomas has known Pea Ridge coach Trent Lloyd since seventh grade and been best friends with Blackhawk seniors since fifth grade. Still, he wasn't sure if his presence on the team might be regarded as taking playing time away from somebody else, but that issue was never brought up.

"The first day we practiced it felt like we had been practicing (together) for three years," Thomas said. "We all knew where each other was going to be. The more we practice the better we get. Now, we just got the rhythm and the flow. It's going to be really hard to stop."

As a young child, Thomas attended the Methodist Church at Prairie Grove. He began playing so much basketball that he stopped going to church. Then in high school, former Farmington teammate and friend Evan O'Dell invited him to attend Brand New Church pastored by Evan's dad, Shannon O'Dell. The pastor developed a relationship with Thomas.

"He took me under his wing, he is almost like a dad to me," Thomas said. "He taught me not to be afraid to show that you're passionate about God."

Thomas made a public profession of his faith and was baptized, which opened a door for him to share his testimony. Thomas' mother, Kelly Penn, of Farmington, is still in awe about how that played out.

"I've seen Matt do a lot of amazing things on the court," Kelly Penn said. "He could do things with a basketball in seventh grade that I couldn't even do in college. But the most amazing thing is he is not afraid to share his faith with the boys on the team. A lot of the boys came when he was baptized. They talked to him about him getting baptized."

Thomas is aware he has influence and tries to use that to advance the kingdom of God.

"The greatest achievement in my life is leading some of my friends to God and helping them grow," Thomas said.

Thomas has one more objective he would like to achieve in high school basketball, something he has laid awake in bed and thought about a lot.

"I've done about everything you can do in high school basketball," Thomas said. The only thing I have not done is go to state and win a state championship. That's the only goal I really have. The rest of the year is just about having fun."

To meet that goal, Thomas is endeavoring to become a consumate team player. While he was used to being the leading scorer at Farmington, Lloyd utilizes a system that tends to spread out scoring opportunities by going to the hot hand. The Blackhawks defeated 7A Rogers, 64-48, in a benefit game Nov. 15. Joey Hall led Pea Ridge with 26 while Thomas had 19 points. Kelly Penn said the team concept has been instilled.

"Each player knows their role and they were all happy with whatever their role is that night," Kelly Penn said.

For Thomas, meshing with the existing framework of the Blackhawk varsity squad has been a matter of give and take.

"Everybody had to sacrifice something, myself included," Thomas said.

One thing he won't put on the shelf is his confidence. St. Paul admonishes the believer in Hebrews 10:35, "Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward."

Pea Ridge fans are anxiously anticipating that intangible factor interwoven into Thomas' personality and basketball game will pay handsome dividends this season.