Emanuel Williams is starting a new chapter in his extensive athletic career as Trinity’s newest PE teacher alongside working with the football program. Previously, Williams has been a teacher and football coach at various schools. Now, as a member of Trinity’s athletics department, he hopes to use his expertise to revamp the athletics program.
Born in nearby Eatonville, Williams discovered his passion for football at a young age when he joined the Winter Park Tigers Flag Football team. After his family moved to Apopka, he went on to have a very successful high school career at Apopka High School, winning several state championships and earning himself a spot as a quarterback at Georgia Southern University. At Georgia Southern, Williams was a standout student-athlete, leading his team to several national and conference titles and racking up a long list of prestigious awards.
“I had a pretty glorious career,” said Williams. “Three-year starter, MVP, Walter Payton Award finalist, the stuff goes on. When I looked myself up and read some of the stuff [I achieved], I couldn’t believe it.”
After graduating, Williams signed to the Green Bay Packers as a free agent for the 2005-06 season. Unfortunately, like many other athletes, his NFL career was cut short by an injury. Now at Trinity, Williams is determined to put his football expertise to use.
“You have to figure out what you are trying to accomplish on the field and what athletes can help you get that accomplished,” said Williams. “So before those athletes can help you get that accomplished, these athletes have to be trained and developed to even give [us] a chance. It’s a process.”
But William’s plans are not just limited to the football program. His vision for Trinity includes improvements to the entire athletic department.
“I would like to see something written on the banner during my time here,” said Williams. “I would like to help improve the image of the athletic department. I know that we excel in other sports; my goal is to see us excel across the board.”
Revitalizing the school’s athletics program and culture is a massive undertaking, but Williams is confident that it’s achievable within the next three years. To accomplish this, he argues that is it important to spend more time and energy developing our middle school athletes.
“You’ve got to start young to develop,” said Williams. “If I can start with you in 6th, 7th, and 8th, by the time you reach 9th and come senior year, the sky’s the limit. Once you develop that passion for whatever you’re doing, you grow from there. I know we are number one academically, [but] we can be number one athletically too.”
