Military Kid Turned CEO: Paying It Forward with Purpose
August 22, 2025
An Interview with Tom Ripley, Partner at Ames Watson,
Chairman & CEO at LIDS Sports Group
by Kara C. Dallman, Executive Director, Our Military Kids
At Our Military Kids, we know military children grow up facing unique challenges that often go unseen. That’s why when an authentic leader like Tom Ripley, a military child himself and U.S. Marine Corps Veteran, embraced our mission, we gravitated to learn more. Tom is currently Partner at Ames Watson, Chairman & CEO at LIDS Sports Group. We were grateful to learn more about his life journey and his company’s commitment to investing in the next generation of resilient young people through the Lids Foundation.
For Tom Ripley, leadership is about showing up, staying humble, and creating space for others to thrive. His journey, shaped by a childhood in a military family, a passion for coaching, and a relentless commitment to learning, offers a powerful blueprint for leading with heart and purpose.
Growing Up Military: A Life in Motion
Tom’s early life was defined by movement. As a military child, packing up every few years, adjusting to new schools, and starting over became second nature. “It was just the rhythm of life,” he reflects in an interview with Our Military Kids Executive Director Kara Dallman. But looking back, he realizes how unique and challenging that experience really was.
Military families live in constant motion. For most people, the idea of uprooting your life every few years is hard to imagine. But for Tom, it was normal. And in that ever-changing world, one thing provided stability: sports.
“Sports were the anchor,” he says. “They gave us a way to make friends, to feel like we belonged.”
Whether it was football, soccer, or basketball, sports offered structure and community in a world that often felt transient. When Tom started his senior year at LeJeune High School on base at Camp LeJeune in North Carolina, he already had three weeks of football practice under his belt. That early connection with his peers and community made all the difference.
A New Generation, New Challenges
Torey (16) received Our Military Kids activity awards to cover lacrosse fees during his father's combat-injury treatment.
Today’s military kids face a different set of challenges. Since 9/11, many have grown up with the reality of back-to-back deployments and long separations from their parents. It’s a level of strain that Tom’s generation didn’t experience as intensely.
When he learned that there are 2.3 million military caregiving children in the U.S., Tom was stunned. “I would’ve been off by several orders of magnitude,” he admitted. It was a powerful reminder of how much the landscape has changed, and how much support these kids need.
That’s why Tom is passionate about supporting organizations like Our Military Kids®, which provides extracurricular activity funding for children of deployed National Guard and Reserve service members and post-9/11, combat-injured Veterans. Whether it’s a new pair of cleats or access to a local league, these small gestures can have a huge impact.
Since 2013, the Lids Foundation has funded more than 3,300 OMK extracurricular activity awards for children and teens in all 50 states and four territories.
“Sometimes all it takes is a ball, a field, and a team to feel at home, no matter where ‘home’ happens to be,” Tom says.
Giving Back with Intention
Vyolet (15) used an Our Military Kids activity award to fund lacrosse training and uniform fees.
For Tom, supporting military kids isn’t just a cause — it’s personal. His own childhood gave him a deep appreciation for the resilience these kids must develop. That’s why he doesn’t just donate, he invests.
“The first gift from the Foundation is aspirational,” he explains. “It’s about believing in the mission, about seeing the potential to make a difference.” But it’s the second gift that really tells the story. That’s when trust is built, when the donor sees results and believes in the transparency of the organization.
Tom admires nonprofits that “push to the point of friction,” those that lean in, do the hard work, and make sure the majority of every dollar goes directly to the cause.
Our Military Kids is one of those organizations. With a $3 million annual budget, 87 cents of every dollar goes directly toward activity awards for military kids.
Coaching: Leadership in Action
Years ago, despite a demanding executive schedule, Tom took on the role of coaching a high school lacrosse team. Practice started at 4:30 p.m., right in the middle of his workday. But he made it work.
Every afternoon, he’d shut down his computer, head to the field, coach, then return to his desk to eat dinner and work for another four hours.
The team he coached weren’t just athletes; they were young men in the making. Out of 24 players, 14 went on to become All-Americans. Today, they’re rising seniors in college, and many still reach out to Tom with texts and calls. Watching them grow into thoughtful, driven adults has been one of the most rewarding experiences of his life.
Recently, he visited a few of them in Chapel Hill. They talked about everything from parents, school, and relationships. Not once did lacrosse come up. And that, to Tom, said everything. The impact he had went far beyond the field.
He didn’t just run drills or call plays. He saw coaching as a chance to mold character, to shape raw clay into something lasting. He was intentional with every word, every lesson, every moment. “They were listening,” he shared, “So I had to be deliberate.”
Always a Student
Tom’s leadership philosophy is grounded in one core belief: always be a student.
Even as a seasoned executive, he approaches each day with curiosity and humility. Whether it’s learning from a peer, a mentor, or a new hire fresh out of college, Tom believes everyone has something to teach. “The moment ego creeps in,” he says, “you lose your creativity. You stop growing.”
In his businesses, he fosters a culture where learning is not just encouraged, it’s expected. His teams are open to new ideas, eager to develop new skills, and unafraid to challenge the status quo. Interestingly, Tom finds he learns the most from younger team members. “They grew up differently,” he says. “They learned through technology, through screens. I want to understand that world.”
Structure as a Lifeline
Leadership isn’t without its pressures: a military kid stepping up when his dad is deployed, a coach taking the field with his team, a Marine leading his fellow Marines into combat, or a CEO convening his executives in a board room. With success comes expectations, and with expectations comes stress. Tom knows this well. That’s why he leans heavily on structure in every aspect of his life.
His solution is twofold, with one part fueling the other:
- A high level of regimented action
- A commitment to physical and mental clarity
Every day starts with a workout. It’s non-negotiable. That morning discipline sets the tone, helping him process stress, manage frustration, and stay clear-headed. “Structure is how I stay grounded,” he explains. “It’s how I lead with intention, even when things get tough.”
"Where the Metal Meets the Meat"
Tom’s approach to leadership whether in business, coaching, or philanthropy is rooted in presence. He lives by a phrase from the film We Were Soldiers: “where the metal meets the meat.” It’s about being in the thick of it, not leading from behind, but standing shoulder to shoulder with those you serve.
Through the Lids Foundation’s continued support for Our Military Kids, Tom directly demonstrates this philosophy by positively impacting the lives of service members, Veterans, and their families.
Disclaimer: Some of this article was written with assistance from generative AI and edited for accuracy.
