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closeWilliams wills himself to rigorous training regimen
2008 Rogers alumnus is preparing for his freshman season on the gridiron for the Eastern Washington University football team
Shaun Scott
The majority of individuals competing in athletics are familiar with the fascination of nicknames. 2008 Rogers High School graduate Grant Williams is no different. Williams, who will be playing middle linebacker for the Eastern Washington Eagles football squad this fall, spoke about one of his favorite nicknames for one of his most prized possessions in the world.
“All of my friends, we have nicknames for our cars. My car is ‘The Tank.’ There’s a lot of big guys who ride in this car,” Williams said of his 1991 Toyota forerunner. “We just named our cars for fun.”
Williams’ vehicle may have more than 130,000 miles on it, but his legs have undoubtedly churned on the grass, track and pavement for a gargantuan amount of miles this summer as well. Williams is currently in the process of training seven days a week in preparation for the opening of Eastern’s fall camp this August.
“Aug. 7 is exactly one month away. That’s when the first practice is,” Williams said. “It’s coming up fast. I would be lying if I was saying that I wasn’t nervous but I’ll be ready. I’m excited about getting out on my own and being in unchartered territory.”
Williams got a first hand look at what kind of players he will be going up against after competing in the East-West Class 3A/4A All-State game at Clover Valley High School in Spokane on July 3.
“I had so much fun. Before the game we practiced twice a day for three days in the 100-degree heat,” Williams said. “We had guys on both teams from all over the state. At game time, the temperature was at 105 degrees. I played on the East team even though I’m from Western Washington. We ended up winning. It was fun playing with a lot of guys I didn’t know before I got there. It was a lot different then I’m used to. Growing up I’ve played with pretty much the same crew since I was in the third or fourth grade.”
Following the game, Williams said he was impressed by the speed of the players at the East/West game. He knows the speed of the game will significantly increase at the college level and he’s already readying himself for the challenge.
The need for speed
There’s a common misconception amongst many members of the general public that all a person needs to be a good football player is size and girth. Anyone who’s associated with the game will tell you otherwise.
“You can be as big as you want to and strong as you want to,” Williams said. “But if you don’t have speed then you can’t play this game. That’s why it’s so important.”
Williams credits Competitive Edge speed coach Brian Petersen with helping him hone his speed and agility abilities.
“I’ve known and worked with Brian since I was in the sixth or seventh grade,” Williams said. “He knows what he’s doing. There’s been so many great athletes around this area who’ve played in the college ranks who have been trained by him.”
After Williams made the 30-minute drive from downtown Puyallup to Graham-Kapowsin High School, He went through a rigorous one-hour training session under Petersen’s tutelage. Petersen’s workouts focus on improving fast twitch muscles, speed, agility and strengthening of the hips. The July 7 session consisted of short sprints, ploy-metrics, change of direction training, hips workouts and jumping exercises. Petersen said the locations of these workouts rotate between Graham-Kapowsin High School, Rogers High School and Emerald Ridge High School on a weekly basis.
Williams’ gutted it out, completing every single one of Petersen’s workouts. After completing each set of drills, Williams placed his hands above his head to conserve as much energy as possible, allowing more oxygen to reach his lungs before his next run. Between sets Williams had close to 30 seconds of recovery time before he had to line up again for another drill. This kind of conditioning happens for a reason, Williams said.
“You can run five miles a day and still not be in football shape,” he said. “This is the closest you can get to simulating what you go through in a football game. There’s a lot of short bursts, sprints and periods of rest like in a game.”
During each of these workouts, Williams’ chiseled muscles in his upper and lower body were working overtime as each of his cleats tore into the grass during agility drills.
As Williams walked toward his Toyota forerunner at the end of Petersen’s session, his Rogers High School football T-shirt was drenched dripping in sweat courtesy of the workout.
“It was a good, hard, fast workout,” Williams said. “These kind of workouts allow you to get your 40 (yard dash) down as low as it can go and can get your vertical (jump) up.”
Weight lifting is more than a hobby
After finishing up his running workouts with Petersen at Graham-Kapowsin, Williams made a quick stop at a local 76 Gas Station where he purchased a 32-ounce orange gatorade.
He would need that gatorade to replenish himself, because he was in route to Puyallup’s YMCA for a weight lifting session.
Once arriving in the weight room Williams was greeted by one of his best friends, former Rogers offensive and defensive lineman Alex Stacy. Stacy will be playing football at Butte Junior College in Northern California this fall. They’ve been friends since they met in 1999. Grant showed his Samson-like strength in the power clean and the bench press. He did five sets of five at 225 pounds in bench and three sets of three at 205 pounds in the power clean lift. During the power cleans, Williams’ face turned red as he lifted the barbell from the ground to his chest. The difficulty of the lift didn’t stop him from pushing himself to the brink and completing the feat.
On his third set of bench, Williams was struggling to put up his fifth and final rep. Stacy wouldn’t let him give up. As Williams’ struggled to put up the final rep, Stacy shouted words of encouragement. Stacy’s weight room boisterous banter paid off as Williams put up the weight finishing the lift. After completing his core lifts, he finished up his time in the weight room with supplemental lifts consisting of lunges, lat pulls, skull crushers, and an abs workout.
While Williams acknowledges that speed is the name of the game in football, he admitted he thoroughly enjoys hitting the weights on a regular basis.
“I enjoy weight training more than running,” Williams said. “It’s so much fun and after you lift you feel so much better. My body feels so good after I get a lift in.”
Family support is his backbone through it all
Williams admitted the achievements and accolades bestowed upon him during his storybook high school career couldn’t have happened without the support of his family and friends. Williams credited his parents David and Lanie for getting him to where he is today.
“My parents have supported me in everything I’ve wanted to do throughout my whole life,” Williams said. “Playing three sports in high school isn’t easy but they were always there. They’re proud of my accomplishments. My dad said he can’t wait to see what else I will achieve in the rest of my life.”
Williams said his mother is proud of him, but is still sad he will be leaving their South Hill home at the same time.
“I’m her only child,” Williams said. “It’s kind of hitting her right now that I’ll be moving away soon. I’m just growing up. She shed some tears at graduation. I know it will be hard for her when I leave.”
Williams won’t be making the trip to Cheney alone, his girlfriend Sami Bailey has also enrolled at Eastern Washington University.
“We’ve been together for almost a year. Her sister lives in Spokane,” Williams said. “It’s going to be nice to have her there. I’ll always have someone who I can count on and talk to. It’s kind of like I’m bringing part of home with me. I’m going to be busy with football and school but when I’m not doing that I will be with her during all of my free time.”