Janesh Sports Weekly Star Athlete Blog with Josh Williams(Guilford College Football)

*****Janesh Sports Weekly Star Athlete Blog with Josh Williams*****

In continuation of our weekly star athlete blog….

Sometimes our goals don’t always play out the way we hoped. You know what they say, “If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans”

This next kid was the one who did everything right through high school. I’m talking school work, on the field, and off the field he was exceptional. I first met him and his family at one of our combines in 2013. When I watched him compete, I saw myself. An underexposed blue collar guy. He was the one diving after balls during warmups. He was the guy you had to tell to take easy during walk throughs. He played with an undeniable passion.

He had finished an outstanding senior year and I asked him how he wanted the next phase of his life to play out, he answered “to play D1 sports”. He was about 6’0, 205, he played linebacker, running back, kicker, tightend. Pretty much anywhere his team needed him. Sounds like the typical high school athlete these days, right? Fluent in two sports, he was quite the lacrosse player also.

Even though this kid had all of the intangibles you want in a high school athlete, he did not receive a scholarship to play football to a D1 school. He had some top tier D2 and D3 schools after him, but the way he saw it, it was D1 or nothing. He ended up choosing to walk-on to one of the top D1 Ivy League schools in the nation.

When I advice my seniors getting ready to make their college decision, I always say choose the best option for them. There could be a D2 program that could provide a better career foundation than a D1 school that offers you a full ride. One has to make a choice that is tailored to fit their life goals.

I hear things are going well for him. He is in his freshman year at the Ivy League school. I don’t want to say the school because everyone will know who I am referring to, if they don’t know already.

As for me, I’m steady. You know that stage of a 400 meter race where you aren’t running your fastest but you are running well enough to stay on pace to make your times? I’m in that stage, I usually refer to it as the “stride”.

Only thing about the stride is the amount of patience it takes to press on in that manner. Guess I am working on my endurance.

My pop’s birthday is this weekend. That’s pretty awesome. We are going to spend some time finishing. I’m excited to catch up. He has helped me through many tough times and I am grateful of that. I think the coolest part about being his son is the fact that he lost his father in a tragic accident. So the way he chooses to parent is him doing it with out an example before him. I appreciate the person that he has guided me into being.

My dad is from Jacksonville NC. The middle of nowhere. But that place shaped who he is. He went to college at UNC Chapel Hill and DeVry University. He is currently, a computer programming consultant. Guess I didn’t get the “Wiz Kid” genes. When I was smaller, my favorite thing to do was ride dirt bikes with him and our family friends.

Anyways, life is good. The Spring is here. It feels amazing outside. Also, it is Easter weekend. *Moment of silence* to honor the death and the resurrection.

Thank you for your support for myself and my organization. Special thanks to our sponsors.

– Josh W.