As the sand in the hourglass of her organized soccer career dwindled to a last few grains in October 2004, Stef Strauss-Thompkins expressed deep concern over the reality of being stripped of one of the most significant identities of her life.

We've watched with contrasting emotions as Brett Favre clumsily tried to say goodbye to his greatest identity during the last year. On a far more ominous note, we've heard on the nightly news of so many workers being deprived of a large part of their identities when this economic meltdown cost them their jobs.

For Strauss-Thompkins, playing out her last few games as an NCAA Division II All-American defender for the UW-Parkside women's soccer team during the autumn of 2007 represented an ominous end.

Soccer provided an avenue for her to express one of her greatest gifts. And while soccer never paid her bills, it did provide her with a great deal of self-esteem - like when she become a rare defender to be named the Great Lakes Valley Conference Player of the Year as a senior at Parkside.

And then it was all over.

"I'm definitely going to mope for a very long time," Strauss-Thompkins said in an October 2004 interview. "I've thought about it a lot and I don't even know how to fill the void. How can I walk away from something I've done for so long?"

While others spend their time dealing with such a void watching "Family Feud" re-runs and feeling sorry for themselves, Strauss-Thompkins looked at life square in the eyes and lived it to its fullest.

She married Case High School graduate Ezekiel Thompkins in a midnight ceremony on Parkside's soccer field July 4, 2005, just after graduating from Parkside. After plotting her future, she enrolled in graduate school at Parkside, earning a master of science degree in kinesiology in May 2008.

She got involved in teaching, first at 21st Century Elementary School in Racine during the spring semester in 2006 and then as a health instructor at Parkside starting last fall.

And she's even kept soccer in her life, although at painful price. She suffered a severe tear of the anterior cruciate ligament in her right knee last June 1 during a pickup game with men at Pershing Park, underwent surgeries July 21, Nov. 10 and Jan. 12, and still walks with a large brace.

"There was no contact," she said. "It was just a pivot and cut on the grass."

But Strauss-Thompkins also found an outlet to teach on a soccer field in addition to the classroom. She has served as an assistant to Parkside coach Troy Fabiano since her playing career ended. And she was recently hired as the first women's soccer coach for Milwaukee Area Technical College and will start her program this fall in Oak Creek.

"Obviously, I would have loved to be able to continue to play," she said. "But being able to coach and being involved with programs is a great substitute. I can still be involved and then share my passion with others."

That enthusiasm carries over into her health class, in which 55 students can witness her passion every Tuesday from

6-8 p.m. One of those students is Katie Younk, a 2005 Park graduate.

"I had her before and I took her again because I just like her," Younk said. "She's really nice. Whenever I need questions answered, she really helps me. Some teachers just seem like they don't care.

"And I like how she teaches. She gives you the notes, but they're partially not filled in, so you have to pay attention. You have to fill in the blanks as you're taking notes. Listening to her, you fill them in so you can participate with the notes instead of just sitting there and writing them down."

To be sure, Strauss-Thompkins doesn't go strictly by the book.

"I go from personal experiences I've had that are applicable to whatever the lesson is that day," she said. "Part of the class I teach now is a wellness lab where they have to go work out. So if anybody approaches me with a question or they need help with motivation or with what do do, I help them that way - with things that worked for me or haven't worked for me."

The bottom line is this: While Favre couldn't let go until it became downright messy, Strauss-Thompkins made a nice, clean break.

"Just make sure you take the time to figure out what you really want to do in life and not just do it for money reasons," she said. "Just make sure you're doing the things you absolutely love."

The Strauss-Thompkins file

NAME: Stefanie Nicole Strauss-Thompkins

BORN: Dec. 2, 1982.

HIGH SCHOOL: Horlick, 2001

COLLEGE: Strauss-Thompkins graduated with a degree in psychology at UW-Parkside in May 2005. She went on to attend graduate school at UW-Milwaukee and earned a master of science degree in kinesiology in May 2008.

RESIDENCE: Racine.

FAMILY: She was married to Ezekiel Thompkins, a 1996 Case graduate, at a midnight ceremony on Parkside's soccer field July 4, 2005. Thompkins is employed as a firefighter in Kenosha.

ATHLETIC CAREER: Strauss-Thompkins was a four-year starter at Horlick, but her soccer career reached new heights at Parkside. With her speed and ability to read the game, Strauss-Thompkins was named the Great Lakes Valley Conference Player of the Year as a senior in 2004 - a rare honor for a defender - and was an NCAA Division II

All-American.