44th Article at the Independent

When one passion is taken away, find another that fills your soul

Chris Drummond

cdrummond@marshallindependent.com

Overcoming adversity shapes the character of an individual. It allows one to see how things can change in an instant and how one must adapt to situations. Cedric Williams Jr., a Youth Development Coordinator for the Marshall YMCA, persevered when obstacles arose from his football and wrestling playing days in college.

His first passion was to play sports and make it to the professional level but on a cold and rainy November day last year, Williams Jr. was playing in a football game for the Southwest Minnesota State University Mustangs. Little did he know that would be the last football game he would ever play and would cause him to ultimately leave the wrestling team as well. But as one passion closed, another one was discovered and now Williams Jr. is all about making a difference in children’s lives and turning wishful thoughts into achievable dreams.

Williams Jr., the son of Lisa and Cedric Sr., is a Minneapolis native and the youngest of four including three sisters. As a child, Williams Jr. and his sisters were always involved with sports as their dad was a three letter athlete in track, football and wrestling for high school. Williams Jr. became a standout athlete in football and wresting at Robbinsdale High School in New Hope. His parents heaped praise on watching him compete in sports.

“I was always super excited to see him play any sport,” Lisa Williams said.

“My emotions were filled with intensity, I always knew he would be a better athlete than I,” Cedric Williams Sr. added.

Williams Jr. started to get the recognition in wrestling by being ranked second in the state and earning All-Conference honors in football. As things were setting up for a terrific final season of sports in high school, Williams Jr. would tear his ACL and meniscus while playing football, ending his season and sports time at Robbinsdale. Williams Jr. elaborated on how crushing it was to have those injuries at that time.

“It felt like it killed me on the inside,” Williams Jr. said. “I felt like I had nothing left and I was in a depressed stage. One of the hardest moments in my life.”

Williams Jr. began his recovery stage which led into his freshman year of college. He would ultimately choose SMSU to pursue football and wrestling. For the first two years of playing both sports, Williams Jr. excelled in each one and solidified his spot on the teams. But in the last game of the football season his junior year, Williams Jr. was in a helmet-to-helmet collision with an opposing player. At first, he shook it off and continued playing the rest of the game.

A few days after the game, though, Williams Jr. started having symptoms of a concussion. It was then he admitted himself to a hospital and was diagnosed with a concussion. Despite going to physical therapy, Williams Jr. talked about how his concussion symptoms felt.

“I had the worst headache of my life, my head was constantly pounding,” Williams Jr. said. “It felt like someone was squeezing my brain.”

It was almost two months after the game that Williams Jr. was still experiencing concussion symptoms, so he went in to see a neurologist who advised him to stop playing sports competitively altogether. After taking a week to think about it, Williams Jr. left both the football and wrestling teams. This decision was heartbreaking for Williams Jr.

“I felt like I wanted to cry,” Williams Jr. said. “Ultimately I told them I was done, but at first I couldn’t bring myself to it.”

As the pain subsided, Williams Jr. had to figure out the next phase of his life. Find another passion that gave him as much joy as being an athlete. Then opportunity came knocking.

Williams Jr. is a frequent visitor of the YMCA because he likes to work out there. It was suggested to him by a professor that he find a job that has to do with kids because he’s also really good at mentoring them. Williams Jr. would apply for the Youth Development Coordinator position and meet with his now boss Jennifer Anderson, who is a Membership lead at the Y. They would take a tour of the facility and Anderson knew Williams Jr. would be a great fit.

“I just thought this guy would be a great hire,” Anderson said. “His first shift he interacted with the kids and he was great with them. I felt like he would play a key role here and he’s amazing.”

Williams Jr. is the head of a program here where he is impacting kids’ lives in a positive way. He introduces new creative ways to have fun and allocate mentorship that is needed in a community that is accepting of it. Williams Jr. talked about his goals and new passion he found within his new role.

“I want to create opportunities for these kids to do something more than just coming to the Y,” Williams Jr. said. “I want to be able to have a non-profit organization for kids and be able to be a leader and mentor for them because they matter.”

“You Matter” is a saying that Williams Jr. advocates to the youth every opportunity he gets. This program is in its beginning phases and Williams Jr. has the stage to build up a program implemented for the youth to provide positive opportunities within the community and goals to achieve in their lives. Even though sports as a passion were taken away from him, the youth gave him a purpose for a new passion that fulfills his soul.

— Chris Drummond is a sports

reporter for the Marshall Independent.

Email: cdrummond@marshallindependent.com

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