|
|
|
|
Joe Williams From New Jersey To VSU:
Growing up in Willingboro, NJ, for Virginia State University’s track and field All-American was pretty simple. As a kid, Joe loved to hang out with his cousin, Kevin Blakemore, Jr. Kevin was an outstanding track and field star at Willingboro High School. Joe and Kevin use to play pick up basketball and sand lot football in the neighborhood. Joe never participated in any organized sports until his ninth grade year at Willingboro High School. No little league football, basketball, soccer, baseball or track and field. He just enjoyed hanging around his cousin playing pick up. In junior high school, Joe wanted to join the track and field team, but his mother was against him participating in track. You see Joe’s cousin, Kevin, died during his high school years of spinal meningitis. Kevin was a positive figure in Joe’s life. Joe’s mother, Diane, believed that participating in track and field could trigger spinal meningitis in her son. She felt that there was some kind of connection between track and field and spinal meningitis. Joe told his mother that if he didn’t make the freshman basketball team, he would go out for the track and field team. Joe did his best to ease his mother’s fear about track and field. When basketball practice began, Joe was mentally and physically prepared to make the team. During the first two cuts, Joe displayed a lot of determination and athleticism. He showed his quickness, speed and of course his ability to rise off his feet. Joe was a natural leaper. He did a great job of rebounding on both ends of the floor, but Joe wasn’t very good with his right hand dribble. So on third and final cut, Joe was let go. His mother knew that Joe was going to be a track athlete. Joe’s older brother, Thomas, supported his decision to participate in track and field. Thomas was a solid offensive-lineman at Willingboro High School. Joe enjoyed watching his brother play football when he could. Now it was Joe’s time to shine in the athletic arena and track and field was his ticket. In high school, Coach Nelson Hayspell had taken special interest in Joe, seeing his natural athletic ability and desire to be the best. Joe enjoyed hard work, and Coach Hayspell would work Joe hard all through high school. Joe stated, “Coach Hayspell would push me hard to be as good as I could be.” Any jumping event was relatively easy for Joe throughout his athletic career. Running, however, always required Joe to work a little harder. “Jumping has always been a natural thing for me,” stated the All-American. During his junior and senior years of high school, he began to compete against another track star from Glassboro High School. That AAU and high school standout was Andre Faulcon, who is another one of Virginia State University’s All-Americans. In his senior year, Joe finished 8th in the state in the triple jump with a mark of 44’ 5”, 4th in the high jump with a mark of 6’8” and long jump mark of 23’.05”. He had made his mark during the state championships. While at Willingboro High School, he began receiving letters from Delaware State University, Rider University and Lincoln University. These were the three universities that were recruiting Joe, but he wasn’t interested in any of the three universities. For some reason, Joe wanted to get a little further from New Jersey and experience something a little different. In the summer of his senior year of high school, some friends had told Joe about Virginia State University. So without one visit, Joe applied to VSU and he was on his way to Petersburg, VA. He came to Virginia State University wanting to major in graphic design. Joe really didn’t think about joining the VSU track and field team, he just wanted to get a solid education. One day in Dr. Paulette Johnson’s gym class, Joe was jumping around and Dr. Johnson told him that he should go out for the team. Dr. Johnson had told Coach Andre Moore that she had this kid in her class who could jump out the gym. Coach Moore quickly ran Joe down and asked him to join the team. While he was getting himself ready to compete at the college level, Joe ran into an old high school competitor, Andre Faulcon. Neither one of the young men knew that they would find each other at the same college and competing on the same. “Seeing Andre at VSU made it easy for me to join the team. I had a friend and home boy,” said Joe. The transition from high school to college was a learning experience. Every team had quality athletes, and Joe knew that he had to work hard not just on his running events but his jumping events as well. His SAT scores prevented him from competing right away, so he used his freshman year wisely. Having to set out his freshman year was a good thing for Joe, because he was able to adjust to the demands of the classroom and the work out schedules that he had to put himself through. He found a home here at Virginia State University, and he wanted to make the best of his opportunity. During his sophomore season, he sustained an injury that prevented him from performing at his peak. “That injury motivated me to get well and be ready for the next year,” stated the All-American. Also during his sophomore season, Joe had gotten some bad news about his brother, Thomas. Thomas was in motorcycle accident in Willingboro, NJ. That wasn’t the worst news. After the bike accident, Thomas was cruising in Philadelphia, PA, when some guys tried to bike jack him. He quickly got away, but Thomas was shot from behind. With God looking down on him, Thomas survived the gun shot wounds. Then after 24 years of loyal service, Joe’s mother was laid off from her job. The injury and the bad news about his family members made it tough for Joe at times. He remained positive and kept working hard toward his goals. The following season, Joe was crowned CIAA Triple Jump Champion and achieved All-American status in that event. He also was selected to the All-CIAA Team in the long jump and achieved All-American status in the long jump. Joe is a three-time All-CIAA performer in the high jump, triple jump and long jump. Joe Williams, a true Man of Troy. When things happen around you that you have no control, you must concentrate even harder; that is what an All-American does.
|
