Joshua Williams '17 Recruiting Profile

I was faced with a grand opportunity in my early years of high school. My freshman year I was the only freshman to make the JV and Varsity basketball teams. Through hard work and dedication, I set a goal for myself that I would make the varsity team my freshman year because everyone told me it couldn’t be done. I was thrown in a big lion’s pit and I was only a little cub. There were nine seniors on the team and they all played an integral role in grooming me into a phenomenal player and outstanding person for the upcoming years.

                  At first, I was so happy that I had accomplished my goal, that I didn’t realize what came with this accomplishment. I played on three teams—JV, Varsity and Freshman teams. I had to practice three times a day and when we didn’t have practice I would have three games that day. The freshman practice was easy. The Junior Varsity practice was a little tough. When I finally got to the Varsity practice I felt miserable by the end of it. The beginning of the season I thought about quitting so many times. It was the same pattern every day and it almost ended my love for the game of basketball.

          One day I had a talk with the best player on the varsity team.   I looked up to him and he made me see things so much differently. He explained to me that I asked for this and I had two options. I could either break down and give up this season or I could give it all that I had with the best attitude possible and take this challenge head-on. So I took his advice and immediately I saw the difference in my days. I didn’t go home angry, sad, or miserable. I went home with a smile on my face because I knew that I made the most of that day and I got so much better. I started to realize that I had the highest points per game average on Junior Varsity. These hard practices were helping me so much and I didn’t even realize it until midway through the season.

          I was given a different challenge at the end of my freshman year. The best player on the team signed with a major D1 college and he told me that he passed the torch to me. I was now a sophomore and I starting on Varsity. The coach gave me the role of the primary scorer on the team. And he put me over five seniors on the team. This helped me become a better person and it truly taught me leadership, teamwork, sportsmanship, and not to give up no matter how difficult your obstacles are.