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Catching Up With David Williams '02
Williams Plays Football at Wofford
David Williams graduated in 2002 after three years at Woodberry. He is currently a freshman at Wofford, where he plays tight end on the football team. After a redshirt year in 2002, he looks forward to contributing in 2003. The following interview is Part I in a series that will appear on-line.
Q: How old were you when you entered Woodberry and how big were you then?
A: As a new boy sophomore I was around 6'2'' 215. I was around the same size as a freshman in Orangeburg, SC.
Q: How big were you when you left Woodberry?
A: I was 6'3'' around 235.
Q: What was it like showing up in the summer for pre-season practice at Wofford?
A: It was slightly intimidating seeing guys that were a lot bigger than me, especially with quarterbacks, defensive backs, and wide receivers at my size. The pre-season was pretty nerve racking because my roommate ended up quitting, and I was stuck in a room alone having to get to and from all of the various places.
Q: What were your initial reactions about school and workouts?
A: Once school started it took a lot of my attention off worrying about everything football related, but I will also admit that initially I felt like I had an overload with a million things to do. But, the workouts and practices weren't quite as difficult once school started. The coaches were very understanding and helped so much getting me organized and getting my schedules straight so that I could take on whatever it was I needed to do.
Q: What was your schedule like during the pre-season and season with regards to academics and football?
A: It was extremely tough because I rushed a fraternity. Pre-season, as I said before, was hectic. Everything seemed to going by at a 100 miles an hour and I was supposed to be here and there at particular times. I found myself not being able to nap like everyone else because I was so worried I'd miss a meeting or be late. Then we would sit in dark rooms watching films with the coaches teaching us and it was painful to try to keep my eyes open. It seemed like the only time I ever relaxed and was able to shut my eyes was actually during pre practice warm ups during stretching. It is hard to remember the exact schedule, but usually we would wake up around 6:30 a.m. to grab something to eat. Then, we would go meet with position coaches and go to the locker room around 8:00 a.m. to get ready to head to practice. Practice varied. We had scheduled periods that lasted five minutes each and we would go through 24 of periods. I almost forgot the best part... we had conditioning before practice. We ate lunch after practice, and then at 1:00 p.m. we had special teams meetings. At 2:30 p.m. we had team meetings, followed by position meetings, and then practice. We usually had a longer night practice and would finish by eight or nine. On top of that, the coach took car keys away from all the freshmen, so we had to beg an older guy to take us along to grab some food. Somewhere in that schedule we lift and do other strength and agility training.
During the season we had lifting on Sundays, Mondays, and Wednesdays. We had team meetings and position meetings after weight lifting on Sundays at 4:30 p.m. Then we had practice from 6:00 until 9:30 or so. On Mondays we did not have practice, but we lifted. On Tuesdays we had the hardest practice starting at 3:30 and ending probably around 6:30. Wednesdays included weight lifting at some point depending on your academic schedule - I had it bright and early at 8:30 a.m. – and a two to two-and-a-half-hour practice. Thursday’s practice lasted two hours followed by a team dinner. Friday included a walk-through practice at 1:00 for about 45 minutes. Any time I didn’t have something football related, I was either in class, studying, or doing fraternity pledging. I didn’t get much sleep each night trying to get all my work finished around everything else, but it all worked out. It was a hectic schedule, but once I got in a rhythm, it was easier.
Q: Has football helped discipline you academically?
A: I've had several people ask me why I play football, stay active in a fraternity, and work hard in school. So many people try to tell me that it would be easier if I just cut football or the fraternity out, but football, even with the amount of time it consumes, helps me out so much because it schedules my day. Everything is so structured and organized, and at a smaller school like Wofford, the teachers and coaches are in constant contact, and the coaches keep track of everything you do. No matter how late of a night it was, I still make all of my eight and eight thirty classes because I have to get up to either run or get to a breakfast check or a treatment. Football really does help me out academically.
Please check back next week for Part II of the interview with David Williams.
Back
Q: How old were you when you entered Woodberry and how big were you then?
A: As a new boy sophomore I was around 6'2'' 215. I was around the same size as a freshman in Orangeburg, SC.
Q: How big were you when you left Woodberry?
A: I was 6'3'' around 235.
Q: What was it like showing up in the summer for pre-season practice at Wofford?
A: It was slightly intimidating seeing guys that were a lot bigger than me, especially with quarterbacks, defensive backs, and wide receivers at my size. The pre-season was pretty nerve racking because my roommate ended up quitting, and I was stuck in a room alone having to get to and from all of the various places.
Q: What were your initial reactions about school and workouts?
A: Once school started it took a lot of my attention off worrying about everything football related, but I will also admit that initially I felt like I had an overload with a million things to do. But, the workouts and practices weren't quite as difficult once school started. The coaches were very understanding and helped so much getting me organized and getting my schedules straight so that I could take on whatever it was I needed to do.
Q: What was your schedule like during the pre-season and season with regards to academics and football?
A: It was extremely tough because I rushed a fraternity. Pre-season, as I said before, was hectic. Everything seemed to going by at a 100 miles an hour and I was supposed to be here and there at particular times. I found myself not being able to nap like everyone else because I was so worried I'd miss a meeting or be late. Then we would sit in dark rooms watching films with the coaches teaching us and it was painful to try to keep my eyes open. It seemed like the only time I ever relaxed and was able to shut my eyes was actually during pre practice warm ups during stretching. It is hard to remember the exact schedule, but usually we would wake up around 6:30 a.m. to grab something to eat. Then, we would go meet with position coaches and go to the locker room around 8:00 a.m. to get ready to head to practice. Practice varied. We had scheduled periods that lasted five minutes each and we would go through 24 of periods. I almost forgot the best part... we had conditioning before practice. We ate lunch after practice, and then at 1:00 p.m. we had special teams meetings. At 2:30 p.m. we had team meetings, followed by position meetings, and then practice. We usually had a longer night practice and would finish by eight or nine. On top of that, the coach took car keys away from all the freshmen, so we had to beg an older guy to take us along to grab some food. Somewhere in that schedule we lift and do other strength and agility training.
During the season we had lifting on Sundays, Mondays, and Wednesdays. We had team meetings and position meetings after weight lifting on Sundays at 4:30 p.m. Then we had practice from 6:00 until 9:30 or so. On Mondays we did not have practice, but we lifted. On Tuesdays we had the hardest practice starting at 3:30 and ending probably around 6:30. Wednesdays included weight lifting at some point depending on your academic schedule - I had it bright and early at 8:30 a.m. – and a two to two-and-a-half-hour practice. Thursday’s practice lasted two hours followed by a team dinner. Friday included a walk-through practice at 1:00 for about 45 minutes. Any time I didn’t have something football related, I was either in class, studying, or doing fraternity pledging. I didn’t get much sleep each night trying to get all my work finished around everything else, but it all worked out. It was a hectic schedule, but once I got in a rhythm, it was easier.
Q: Has football helped discipline you academically?
A: I've had several people ask me why I play football, stay active in a fraternity, and work hard in school. So many people try to tell me that it would be easier if I just cut football or the fraternity out, but football, even with the amount of time it consumes, helps me out so much because it schedules my day. Everything is so structured and organized, and at a smaller school like Wofford, the teachers and coaches are in constant contact, and the coaches keep track of everything you do. No matter how late of a night it was, I still make all of my eight and eight thirty classes because I have to get up to either run or get to a breakfast check or a treatment. Football really does help me out academically.
Please check back next week for Part II of the interview with David Williams.
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