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Williams leads by example
SIKESTON -- There's one voice that usually towers above everyone else's, even during a simple passing drill as the Sikeston soccer team practices.
His lines of encouragement, as well as his emphasis towards his teammates on doing things the right way, are mixed with his wise-cracks that are meant to keep practices light.
Hunter Williams has grown into the Bulldogs' undisputed player/coach. The senior's demeanor and exquisite skills on the pitch have set himself apart as an undeniable factor in the Bulldogs' record-setting season and first district championship since 2005.
"He's a leader out there on the field," Sikeston soccer coach Doyle Noe said about Williams. "The other guys look up to him and we kind of go as he does.
"I look to him at practice too," Noe said. "He keeps organization and keeps it flowing with a lot of leadership. He's a very, very skilled player. He's one of the most skilled players I've ever been around."
The fleet-footed forward seems to always have a knack for being in the action -- and it's usually with two and three defenders clamoring around him.
Williams is always the center of every opposing defense's attention. Although the senior commands at the very least a constant defender shadowing his every move, he leads the team with 26 goals on the season.
"He gives a lot of leadership to the team and we can look to him," teammate Blake Angle said about Williams. "He's always played on club teams and he knows a lot about soccer. To have him on the team, he brings a lot of attention to himself on the field. When the other team shadows him, he can open up other things for us.
"Even when he's not on the field, he keeps us motivated."
This year's Class 2, District 1 championship game was a prime example on what kind of player Williams has evolved in to.
Perryville had one defender marking Williams the entire time and another would shadow Williams when the ball would simply come close to him, which is nothing new to him.
"Some teams like to stick guys on me the whole game," said Williams. "They'll run around and it feels like they're holding my hands the whole game."
Facing a double-team against the Pirates, Williams was played the ball and used his body to shield one defender away. He felt the pressure of the other defender coming to help and spun away to sink the eventual game-winning goal.
"He's a strong player and he uses his body really well," Noe said. "A lot of times he's able to fight that off and go through it. When you have another team committing a defender to just one person, no matter where they're at, it opens other things up. I've got a lot of good players on this team and they're able to capitalize on that too.
"He's a big strong kids with great speed. He's kind of got it all."
Williams began honing his soccer artistry at the young age of four. By age eight, he joined an indoor soccer league in Cape Girardeau and has been involved with club soccer ever since.
"When he was a freshman, I had him pegged as a great player," said Noe. "He wasn't what he is now, obviously. But, especially his junior and senior seasons he's worked a lot harder and has gotten a lot stronger physically."
The way Williams protects the ball against two and three defenders is almost like a game of keep-away. With an array of slick moves, spins and jukes, Williams dances past most double and triple teams with what looks like the slightest of ease.
"I just try to keep the ball away from them," Williams said. "My body helps a lot because I'm kind of bigger than most of the defenders. I've always been kind of fast and the quickness helps. You just have to practice your moves."
"He just has really good body control," Angle added. "He knows how to handle his body without getting a foul called on him and can take on defenders."
On top of being one of the regions most dangerous goal scorers, Williams has also played the role of facilitator more than ever this year. His unselfishness has been a key point in Sikeston (19-4) eclipsing the school record for wins, which was previously 17.
Along with leading the team with 26 goals, he also paces the Bulldogs with 21 assists -- something almost unheard of from a top goal scorer.
Williams, who has been a starter for Sikeston since his freshman year, credits that feat to the slew of young talent around him, such as Brandon Goodwin and Tyler McClinton up top, that have been a huge boost in taking some of the pressure away from him around the net.
"We do have some freshman that have stepped up and helped us this year," Williams said. "They come off the bench and some of them have had the opportunity to start. They've done really well and they should have good careers here at Sikeston."
Although he possess lofty stats, Williams doesn't let it get to his head. The only reason he keeps up with them at all is to jokingly pick on his the teams' second leading goal scorer, Goodwin, on who has more.
"Me and Goodwin like to tease each other, but I don't really keep up with that stuff," said Williams. "For me, it's about seeing the whole team do well."
Playing in his last season as a Bulldog, Williams has used the utter disappointments of years past where Sikeston collapsed almost always when being thrown into a tight game.
Williams, along with the rest of the Bulldogs, have learned how to win. He admits there's a certain kind of confidence, or swagger, when it comes to building a successful team.
"A lot of it is confidence," said Williams. "Over the last few years we'd play close games and we'd lose games 1-0. This year we may have a down game, but we end up getting a goal and pulling through.
"You learn how to win and you just have that confidence when you get on the field."
Williams hopes that winning poise built within him flows through the rest of the Bulldogs on Tuesday when they take on the Farmington Knights in the Class 2 Sectional round of the state soccer playoffs.
It's probably a sure thing that Williams will have a say in the outcome -- whether with his feet or words.
"We've worked on that a lot in the past two years with him about settling down and setting an example for the other players," Noe said. "He leads this team very well."