Joel Williams
I have been coaching high school sports for 20 years, coaching both soccer and basketball. I took two years off in the middle from coaching at Whitney, but I have been coaching the entire 20 years. What influenced you to become a coach? I always loved athletics. I was a three sport letterman in high scool (baseball, basketball and soccer) and played two sports on scholarship in college (baseball and soccer). I love competing and watching others compete. My dad was a collegiate basketball coach winning numerous accoladed, including national coach of the year. Watching how my dad gave back to athletes and impacted their lives encouraged me to get into coaching when I was done playing. I wanted to continue to help kids grow as people and compete in high school sports. How do you set up your team to be successful? Biggest thing to help players be successful is to help them see what their strengths and weaknesses are and how they can best help the team. Also, the game has to remain fun so that they can enjoy competing and playing. The last thing that needs to happen for teams to be ultimately successful is that the players need to enjoy each other. We of course encourage them to play year round and help them find opportunities to play, but ultimately team success occurs when the player enjoy playing the game and being with their teammates, When that happens, they will ultimately have the most success they can. Do you have any hobbies that you do when you are not coaching? I love to be with my wife and kids and watch them participate in the activities that they love. I love to be able to be involved with my church and study the Bible. I love to read and enjoy getting away by myself to just enjoy the quiet.
