Coach, Greenwood native gets 1000th career win

Coach, Greenwood native gets 1000th career win

Last week Greenwood’s Ronnie Williams accomplished something that’s taken him 39 years to do, winning 1000 career basketball games as a junior high head coach.

It was a goal worth putting off his retirement for just one more year, a feat few coaches will ever match, regardless of their level of competition. It’s also something no one can ever take away from him.

Last Thursday his Jr. Lady Bulldogs easily defeated Van Buren, 45-25, for his 1000th ninth grade victory. They also won this past Monday at Alma, improving their season mark to 12-2 while remaining unbeaten (7-0) in River Valley Conference play.

Williams has also coached seventh and eighth grade girls and boys basketball throughout his career, winning many hundreds of additional games.

But the achievements and accolades don’t stop there. Besides his current record of 1001-362 in ninth-grade basketball, both girls and boys, the Greenwood native has also excelled at coaching football, track, and golf, winning numerous state championships and dozens of conference titles.

In 26 years on the gridiron at Immaculate Conception and Trinity Junior High in Fort Smith, Williams had just two losing seasons, winning nearly 80% of his games (182-41-5), earning 12 league championships.

He also ably guided their outstanding track program, winning an incredible 22 district titles with his girls and five with his boys.

After returning to his alma mater in Greenwood in 2006, the longtime coach led both varsity golf teams and had similarly spectacular results, winning five state championships with the Lady Bulldogs and one with the GHS boys.

His golf teams also had six state runner-up finishes, won 12 conference titles, had eight individual state medalists, and one overall state medalist (Evan Griffith, 2018).

But Williams, who graduated from Greenwood High School in 1975, says his career has been about much more than just wins and losses, though winning always makes it better.

“My greatest accomplishment has been impacting the lives of my players and students in a Christ-like manner,” he said with all sincerity.

Undergirding his many personal and professional responsibilities as a husband, father, grandfather, teacher, and coach is his religious faith, something Williams embraces without apology.

He also feels fortunate to have been able to live his faith openly throughout his teaching and coaching career. He did so for 26 years at Immaculate Conception and Trinity and for the last 13 years back home in Greenwood.

“Last year, right before the end of the season, I thought about retiring,” he explained. “Then I looked at the record and I told [Greenwood Athletic Director] Dr. [Dustin] Smith, ‘I’ve got to come back and get that 1000th win.’ It was a goal I set for myself.

“When I started coaching in 1980 I never imagined the success I’ve had,” he continued. “I’ve never scored a point yet, so I credit those wins to my kids and how hard they’ve worked and believed what I told them, and executed. It’s been a wild trip. It’s been fun. I’ve had some great kids.

“I tell my [players] it’s not about the wins. It’s about the way we handle ourselves, the way we treat people, and the way I treat them. I’m just excited to be able to accomplish this,” said Williams.

“I wasn’t sure back in 2013 when I got cancer that I would still be coaching today,” he added, revealing the biggest current challenge in his life.

“But God has been good to me. He’s taken care of me. I was supposed to have a massive surgery a year ago, and I believe [God] stopped that for a [reason], and it’s been a great year since [then].”

In the late 1970s Williams attended Westark Community College (now the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith) before earning his teaching and coaching credentials from Arkansas Tech University in Russellville, but jobs were hard to find at that time.

“I was an oil and gas man for six months because I graduated in December and couldn’t find a coaching job. Then Pedro Sadler, who coached many years at [Ft. Smith] Southside and Greenwood, hired me at Immaculate Conception, and we started working together in 1980,” said Williams.

“At that time there weren’t a lot of jobs, and Coach Sadler was nice enough to offer it to me, and I grew up two houses from him. We were friends and I thought it was a great opportunity to work with someone I knew.

“Immaculate Conception was a great place to work,” he continued. “It was an awesome family atmosphere, and the kids and administration were great. As a Christian, I believe God puts me where he needs me.

“I had a priest there named Father Jack Harris who encouraged me to do whatever I needed to do to help the kids in their faith. It was a great place for me to be. We had a very active FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) there. I told my wife I would never leave unless God told me there was something else.

“But in 2006 I almost went to Union [Christian], then I backed out and Greenwood called the next day,” said Williams, who first declined to interview when contacted by former Athletic Director Jerry Cecil. Assistant Superintendent Kevin Hesslen then called back, followed by Dr. Kay Johnson, who was Superintendent at the time, finally convincing him to accept Greenwood’s invitation.

“I came down for the interview and accepted [the job] that day, and it’s been great,” recalled Williams. “Greenwood is such an awesome school district to work for. We’re known for our athletics and our academics. The other coaches, the administration, and the people are just great.”

One of the new duties he assumed at Greenwood was that of varsity golf coach. “That’s turned out to be a fun gig as a coach, to be able to go to the golf course every day. I took over a group of kids that were very successful. The transition was just perfect.”

His coaching success aside, Williams’ greatest pride and joy is his family, now larger than ever with the marriages of his three children and the arrival of two grandchildren. He and wife Pamberly have known each other since 1976 and were married in 1980.

Pam worked for 36 years as a school secretary in Fort Smith and Greenwood, leaving the workplace a couple of years before her husband to get a head start on retirement.

“She’s retired and having a great time just watching after our grandkids and doing things she loves to do,” said Williams, who will join her in retirement at the end of the school year.

The couple also has two sons and a daughter, all grown, married, and starting their own successful lives.

Youngest daughter Lundon, who graduated from Greenwood and won two state basketball titles with the Lady Bulldogs, is now an assistant coach for volleyball and basketball at Ramey Junior High in Fayetteville.

Her older brothers, Landon and Logan, are both married and living and working in the River Valley, and have provided their parents with two beautiful granddaughters, Anna Rose (11 months) and Reese Erin, age six.

“That’s the fun part of retirement – getting to be with those grandkids,” said Williams in the true spirit of a proud grandparent.

Williams teaches ninth grade civics and physical education and enjoys teaching as much as coaching. He even loves lunch duty. “It gives me an opportunity to visit kids that I don’t coach or even know,” he said.

Asked about how American education and culture have changed over the years, he said, “When I was at Trinity we were like family. It was a small school and I had so much parental support. We didn’t have the Internet and cell phones and all the distractions we have today.

“I loved it back then, and I’m adjusting to it now. But kids are kids, and they’re going to do what you expect of them. My wife tells me I’m an old softy now.

“I was tough back in the early days. I grew up under coaches who were tough [like Greenwood’s H.B. Stewart], so I’m old school. [But] a lot of things we did back then, we’d lose our jobs or be sued over today.

As for his replacement, Williams is taking a hand-offs approach. “I really don’t know,” he said. I have a great assistant in Amy Hardy. She very likely could be the next [head coach]. I’ll leave that up to Dr. Smith.”

“Even today they don’t want me to retire,” said Williams. “I think they believe I have a positive influence in the school. They’d love for me to stay, but they understand. I’m 62 and I still have cancer, and there are still things I want to do that maybe I can’t do if I work. Being a good retiree, I’ve already filed for Social Security and teacher’s retirement. I’m ready.”

After hanging up his coaching whistle, the biggest battle for Coach Williams will be his ongoing struggle against cancer, which seems to be at a stalemate for now.

“It’s a rare cancer usually found around the tailbone,” he explained. “I fell on some ice and for two or three months they couldn’t find out what was wrong with me. Then a doctor in Northwest Arkansas ordered a pelvic MRI and they found it.

“So they cut it out and said they got it all, which was great. But it came back in 2015 in soft tissue, and they cut it out [again], but had to leave a little bit.” That was followed by 30 rounds of radiation, said Williams.

“Then it came back in 2017 and I had 29 rounds of proton radiation in Irving, Texas. It’s slowed [the cancer] down, but it has caused other problems. It’s burned up a lot of tissue. My cancer is still there, but it’s not growing.

“I had surgery scheduled for October 25th in 2017. They were going to do a total colostomy with close to a year recovery time,” said Williams, who was facing back-to-back eight-hour surgeries on consecutive days.

“But the doctor found a little piece of cancer in my abdomen, so they discussed it and decided to abort the surgery. Then I went to M.D. Anderson [Cancer Center], and they said surgery wasn’t necessary. And that spot of cancer they found [in my abdomen] has never shown up [again].

“I call it my “Bethel” where God showed up and got me off the operating table, because in this last year I’ve had two kids get married and had a grandbaby born. I’ve been able to be at school and win a state championship in golf and do a lot of [other] stuff. I got to see Lundon finish her college basketball career – things I would not have been able to do had I [undergone] that surgery,” said Williams.

“I just thank God for being able to do all those things in this last year-and-a-half. It’s a battle, but God’s got it. I just keep believing that and keep going every day.”

The coach is currently managing his cancer with medication. “As long as it doesn’t grow, we’ll just leave it alone,” he said. “When it starts to grow, I’ll have to have that surgery when the time comes.”

But for now he is not limited in his physical activities beyond that of any other 62-year-old.

“My wife and I and my kids mowed about 450 yards last year. Physically I can do just about anything. I can’t run a mile anymore, but I stay as active as I can. At my age it’s hard to lose weight. I mowed 400-something yards and never lost a pound, so I guess I eat more than I mow,” he said with a good-natured chuckle.

Williams also spoke of his friend and colleague, Clay Reeves, whose health forced him to take medical leave in December, pending a surgical procedure in February, leaving his Lady Bulldogs without their seven-time state champion head coach. He hopes to return in March.

“I have learned so much from him,” said Williams of Reeves. “He is a phenomenal coach. He does the little things that make a difference. He’s made me a tremendously better coach. I appreciate his patience working with me. My goal [has been] to get kids ready to play for him. I hope I’ve helped [his] program to have success.

“He’s a man of faith as well,” said Williams of his friend and coaching mentor. “He understands what’s going on, [but] he’s never been a guy that can relax during basketball season.

“That’s been the biggest struggle for him. But he’s getting better at it. Hopefully once he gets his procedure done, he can get back, because he loves to coach. He loves his kids and has a huge impact on them as well.”

Williams also credited several local Greenwood families who have organized and managed travel basketball teams throughout the years. “The Clements, the Summits, the Cartwrights, the Barnes. They made me a better coach, because those kids that play year around are better and more experienced.”

Concluding the interview, Williams reflected on his career and life as this chapter nears its end.

“Faith is huge in my life,” he said. “I try every morning to do a quiet time and thank God for letting me get up every day, and for my health and the family and life I have. He’s been so good to me.

“I’ve had such a great life [overall] and my wife is a huge part of my spiritual life as well. She’s a rock, and we get along so great. Now that all the kids are gone, we are empty nesters, and hopefully through retirement we can travel and do some stuff [together].

“I don’t know how people face the day without faith – without a belief that somebody is going to watch out for [them]. Everywhere we go, to ballgames and with my family, I pray to God to put a hedge of protection around us and watch over us. All my kids and their spouses are Christians, and I get to pray for my grandkids.

“As for my cancer, it has taught me the importance of impacting lives off the court more so than the wins and losses. Every day is a gift, and I try to live my life like that each day,” said Williams.

“I just want to thank everybody,” he said. “I have been so blessed with the two schools I’ve been at, and I have no regrets from either one. I’ve been free to be who I am and coach the way I believe.

“I want to thank all the 1000s of kids I’ve coached. I’ve had great principals that encouraged me and allowed me this platform and the impact God wanted me to have. It’s been a great 39 years and I can’t wait to see what the next few years hold for me.”

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