Meghan HurleyWomen’s track coach James Williams was given the honor of being named the Eastern College Athletic Conference Coach Of The Meet last week. Williams also led the women’s team to a second- place finish at the ECAC championships.
“I think James is a great coach and I’m glad that he won coach of the meet,” Leslie Williams, a sophomore sociology major, said. “It was very unexpected, but I think he deserved it because he does a lot for his team.”
Coach Williams was surprised to hear that the honor had been given to him due to the fact that he felt he had been “overlooked a couple of times,” but is happy that it had finally been his time.
“It’s good to know you’re respected, but what I would really like is to get that win,” Williams said. The coach said that he was proud of his team and that “they’ve met the expectations I’ve had, but you want to go over the expectations.”
The news also pleased junior social work major Lauren Deas. ” Coach Williams deserves every award that he receives. We came in second place [among 53 teams] with only five girls while other teams had at least 10 girls. But Williams knows where to put his athletes to get the points,” Deas said.
Coach Williams has already started to look into ways he could better his coaching and essentially his team. “I’ve signed up for two more coaching seminars to reach my ultimate goal, which is to win ECAC and National Collegiate Athletic Conference,” Williams said.
Freshman history major Christiana Taylor puts complete faith in her coach. “He always lets us know that we can do anything if we just set our minds to it and that we are capable of accomplishing whatever we believe in,” she said.
Deas is confident that Williams achievements haven’t ended here. “I see Coach Williams winning coach of the year for our upcoming outdoor season,” she said.
The coach said that there is a “political tie in track and field” when you are recognized for your work. “I’ve actually recruited more since then.”
“I am happy to say that my coach is creative, clever and a terrific leader. I am happy that I have chosen Cabrini to run track under Coach Williams,” Taylor said.
Williams is able to coach his team with the professionalism that he does because he himself is no stranger to the track. Cabrini `99 alum Williams set 13 school records in sprints, jumps and throwing events during his college career.
He is also the assistant coach for Cabrini’s men’s team and an assistant cross-country coach for both the men and women’s teams.
Before returning to his alma mater, Williams also coached at West Chest University in both men and women’s track and cross-country and in 2001 was Gwynedd-Mercy’s head coach for the men’s team.
