Greenville football coach plans return to sideline

By Michael Carvell

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Barely hours after the season had ended, Jeremy Williams was right back at what he does best: running his football team.

Greenville High School had just lost to eventual Class A state champion Wilcox County on Nov. 20 but Williams was already talking with his staff about the 2010 team and regenerated hope. Coping as he can with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, or Lou Gehrig's Disease), Williams arms and hand muscles have weakened to where he can no longer lift his 6-year-old son for a hug, nor hoist his favorite rifle on a recent 10-day hunting trip. Williams slurs some words and walks with pronounced limp, both irreversible symptoms of the illness.

But just as Williams had amazed so many with his upbeat pursuit during the season, that attitude has not changed just because the season ended with a 20-point loss in the second week of the playoffs.  Even if the words don’t come out as clearly, his mind is as sharp as ever.

“I am going to coach as long I as can keep going,” Williams said. “I’ve got great assistants who really help out a lot. As long as I can keep doing it at a high level, I’m going to keep doing it.”

No one in the coach’s circle was surprised by his reaction to the loss. Dwelling on the past is a waste of time for a person who is unsure aboutf the days ahead of him. Williams has the support of school officials and will remain in charge of the program at the little school of 380 students in Meriwether County.

“Nobody has ever said anything to Jeremy about not coaching next year,” Greenville assistant principal Lee Riley said.

Greenville, located 60 miles southwest of Atlanta, remains in admiration of Williams' courage and dedication, how he placed his passion for game and for his players above his health problems. Even though the Patriots fell short of a state championship, the team and its coach remain one of the state’s feel-good stories of the year.

“There hasn’t been a day go by for weeks that I haven’t gotten an e-mail about Jeremy or have someone around town ask me how he’s doing,” Greenville team chaplain Gerald Fowler said. “So many people are inspired and encouraged by his walk.”

As word spread of Williams' story, perfect strangers called to inquire about setting up a scholarship fund forf his kids. He has yet to get around to returning a call to CNN producers. Someone else wants to discuss a documentary.

“The community has always been behind Jeremy,” Riley said. “It is overwhelming to see the response of people from outside our area. All of them want to make sure Jeremy is OK and many want to help. We really have a lot of caring people in the world.”

At Greenville’s final game, some 40 current or former high school coaches stood along the home sidelines in support of Williams.

“I’ve been humbled by all [the attention],” Williams said. “I think it’s pretty awesome. But it’s not me. It’s God using me to touch the lives of others. That’s what we’re supposed to do as ‘believers’ ... encourage others. This was all part of His plan.”

With the end of the season, Williams had the chance to fulfill one of his lifelong dreams: traveling west for an extended hunting trip with his older brother, Robert.

The two packed Robert’s pickup truck on Dec. 2, and alternated turns at the wheel during a 22-hour marathon to South Dakota to hunt pheasant. On the first day in the woods, Jeremy Williams lost his cell phone in the snow. Due to the atrophy in his arms, Williams had to use a lighter shotgun just to be able to lift it.

Nevertheless, he still bagged his limitt on both days.

On the way home, the brothers drove 16 hours to Kansas to hunt deer just a snowstorm hit the area. Williams insisted on hunting with snow up to his waist and temperatures dropping to minus-6 degrees. The shooting stick he used to help with his rifle’s weight and aim was of no use. They never actually saw a deer.

“I’m glad he got to go,” said his wife, Jennifer Williams. “He's always enjoyed being outside and in the woods. It was good for him and relaxed him a little bit after a long football season.”

His offseason schedule has begun to crowd up. Wednesday, he and the team will put the finishing touches on four paintings (valued at $700 each) that will be donated to local hospitals. The project will be set up in Greenville High’s main lobby and Williams has invited many of the school boosters to participate.

It was the idea of Roswell artist John Feight, founder of the Foundation for Hospital Art, which provides paintings and murals to lighten the atmosphere in hospitals.

“Coach Williams’ story really caught the attention of a lot of people around me,” Feight said. “I believe in following your dreams and thoughts. I thought the team could paint with Jeremy and they could donate them. They would have that experience together as a wonderful memory.”

The Williams family also got some good news about Jacob Williams, the couple's son who was born with spina bifida and will likely remain in a wheelchair for the rest of his life. Jacob’s recent surgery (his eighth overall) to straighten his legs was successful and he will no longer have to wear casts on both legs.

After hearing from so many people encouraged by his story, Williams has decided to seek out speaking engagements, giving his testimony in 10-to-15-minute talks over the next few months.

“Jeremy wants to share his faith because he thinks this is a major reason why he is going through this whole thing,” Fowler said. “Not only to tell people how good that God is, but also to show them that he’s fired up about life, regardless of the surrounding circumstances.”

As the school’s athletic director, Williams will be attending many of Greenville’s basketball games. Many of his football players have migrated to the basketball team, while the remaining underclassmen have started off-season training.

Football is never far from his mind. With Greenville returning 13 of 22 starters, including at most skill positions, Williams thinks the team can have another strong showing next year.

“It was good for our kids to see Wilcox County win it all,” he said. “We went 11-1 with our only loss to state champions. That’s not a bad season.

“Our kids learned a lot from that loss. Wilcox had been in big games like that before. Now we have, too. We know what [environment] to expect next time we’re in that position and we’ll be better prepared.”

And Williams plans to be there for the next time, too.

About this series

Nearly four weeks after their playoff run ended, Greenville High's football team and coach Jeremy Williams have returned to a winter routine after one of the most emotional seasons the state has ever seen. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, which chronicled the Patriots' progress, recently caught up with Williams who is already plotting out 2010.