After David Kompson ’17 opened a present last Christmas, so much ran through his mind. How thankful he was that his father gave it to him. How much the gift meant to David. How he wanted to do the same for others.  

The present — two photos in a frame, one from the 1917 Loomis hockey team, one from the 2017 team that was largely the seniors, head coach J.R. Zavisza, and assistant coach Mike Murphy. The photos originally were part of the 100-year celebration of Loomis Chaffee hockey in 2017, when the players struck the pose of that 1917 team.  

“I remember the day coach J.R. showed us the photo from 100 years ago,” David said.   

It prompted David to stop and really think about how long the hockey program — and Loomis Chaffee — had been around. “That is something to cherish,” he said.  

David spent his first two years of high school in Buffalo, N.Y., before coming to Loomis Chaffee.  

“My time at Loomis — I tell my parents this all the time — it was the best years of my life,” David said. “J.R. put in the time to know my family, to know me, and it ended up being the best decision I ever made. Loomis Chaffee was my first time getting out of my comfort zone. I was introduced to so many people across the world, to so many ways of thinking when it came to teachers and peers.”  

David came to his five-year reunion in 2022 and said he got to see many of his friends. Some of the seniors from that team live in New York City, so he sometimes takes the drive from Buffalo to the city. “Everybody lets me stay on their couch,” he said. “It’s like my second home with all my friends.”  

This winter he went to the city with wrapped framed photos in hand for former teammates and 2017 graduates Justin Grillo, Michael Greenberg, Liam lynch, and Adin Farhat. The following day he drove to Windsor and waited outside a class that J.R. was teaching to give him the framed photos. He also left one for Mike with Mike’s wife, Ali, associate director of admission for Loomis Chaffee. Mike is now History Department chair at Avon Old Farms. J.R. stepped down in March as LC hockey coach after 15 seasons; he still teaches at the school.  

“David’s visit was a complete surprise,” J.R. said. “I walked out of my classroom in Brush [Library], and there he was sitting on the couches. It was so out of context that it took me a second to recognize who it was. But we got right to catching up and went out for a quick lunch.  David has stayed in touch over the years, but still there was plenty to catch up on. I was so grateful for him thinking of me and taking the time to visit. ... Moments like these, where a former player pays a surprise visit, make all the sacrifice that head coaching requires feel worth it.”    

Playing for J.R., David said, was incredible.  

“He wanted you to work on everything, not only as a hockey player, but as a person,” David said. “He was very forward thinking and always thinking out of the box. We did a lot of neurological activities.” Those were designed to improve such things as focus, decision-making, and reaction speed.   

“He demanded the best of us in every practice and in every game, and that made us very cohesive as a team. ... Sometimes the other team might have been more talented, but we would outperform them because of all that J.R. gave us,” David said.  

Another nod to Loomis Chaffee is a bubble hockey machine, a tabletop arcade-style game, in David’s parent’s house. The game pits players from Loomis Chaffee vs. players from The Nichols School in Buffalo, N.Y., his brother Alex’s high school team.  David’s dad won a raffle to get the bubble hockey machine custom designed.   

He shoots. He scores. Another top-shelf idea.