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When McCorristin Catholic
High School boys' basketball coach Donald Williams talks to his
players about the potential dangers of ignoring the law, he qualifies
as an expert witness. For the past 14 years, the 39-year-old Trenton
resident has been an officer at New Jersey State Prison.
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"From
time to time, I tell the kids stories about guys who are
in here, guys who came in at a young age and are doing life
sentences," said Williams, head coach of the freshman
team and assistant coach of the varsity at McCorristin.
"Hopefully, what I say will discourage the kids from
getting involved in something stupid, something that could
mess up their lives. The way I see it, coaching high school
kids is about more than the games they play on the court.
They're at the stage where they're becoming young men. You
try to have a positive effect on them."
Williams
was exposed to basketball at an early age in basketball-mad
Kentucky, where he grew up. He was a member of his high
school team before graduating and doing a stint in the Army.
From there, he settled in New Jersey, went to work for the
Department of Corrections and began coaching the sport at
the youth level.
Three
years ago, he was approached by McCorristin head coach Fred
Falchi about becoming an assistant at the parochial school
in Hamilton. He quickly accepted.
"A
lot of what I've learned about basketball, I've learned
on my own," Williams related. "I always promised
myself that if I ever got an opportunity to help out kids,
especially high school-age kids, I'd do it.
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Donald
Williams |
These kids are at an
age where they're surrounded by a lot of negative influences. Peer
pressure can be enormous, particularly for kids from broken homes.
If you help guide a kid down the right path, you can make a real
difference in his life."
You also can win a
few games. In 2001, his first year as McCorristin's freshman coach,
Williams won four games. The next season, he won five times. In
2003, however, the squad soared to a 15-3 record, the best in
school history. Meanwhile, the varsity compiled a 21-6 mark, placed
first in the Freedom Division of the Burlington County League
and advanced to the second round of the state playoffs.
"The wins are
always nice, but to me, the most rewarding thing is to see a kid
improve, both on and off the court," Williams said. "We
start the day after Thanksgiving and go until April. As a coach,
it's great to watch the progress the members of a team make, individually
and collectively, throughout the season."
Typically, Williams
is at the school from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. He then works the night
shift at the prison. The hours add up, but he isn't about to complain.
"Not only is
the coaching an outlet for me, but I feel like I'm doing some
good as well," he said. "There are so many lessons the
kids can learn from playing basketball -- teamwork, commitment,
sportsmanship, to name a few. I really enjoy being part of it."
When the practices
and games end, Williams goes to the prison, where he constantly
is reminded of what can happen to those who never bothered to
learn those lessons.
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