Driven to Excel

Krystian Williams sleepily taps the “off” button, contemplates the moment, and then in the pre-dawn haze, rises to begin what promises to be a full and productive day, which includes a 90-minute strength and conditioning session at the Robins Campus commencing at 7 a.m. sharp.

 

It’s not that the Collegiate senior dreads this O-dark-hundred wake-up call. It’s just that he knows full well that if he’s to maximize his prodigious talent, realize his potential, and achieve his goal of being the best competitor and teammate he can be, he must be supremely disciplined, stay humble, and embrace discomfort, all pillars of a mindset that translates into personal excellence.

 

“It can definitely be a grind,” he said. “There’re a lot of mornings where it’s, Do I really want to get up this early and go? Then you think back to how far you’ve come, and it’s, Yeah, I’d better get up. There’re times when it gets rough, but you have to remember what your goals are and keep pushing and doing better. That’s what keeps me going.”

 

Williams is a football and track and field athlete par excellence.

 

A 6-1, 175-pound student-athlete, he recently committed to Virginia Tech for the former and, once he’s in a rhythm, will see how the latter fits into the picture.

 

As a junior wide receiver, he caught 26 passes for 604 yards and seven touchdowns. As a defensive back, the position he’s projected to play for the Hokies, he recorded 46 tackles (five for losses), one sack, three interceptions (including a pick-six), four pass breakups, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery, all notable stats considering that most opponents wisely steered their offense away from him. His accomplishments earned him All-Prep League, All-VISAA, and honorable mention All-Metro honors.

 

“Krystian is one of the top overall athletes I’ve ever had the privilege of coaching,” said head football coach Mark Palyo. “He’s a dynamic player. Schools from Power Five conferences offered him on both sides of the ball. That’s a testament to who he is as an athlete and a person.”

 

There’s much more to Williams, who’ll serve as a co-captain this fall, than tangible, on-field accomplishments.

 

“Krystian is modest in everything he does, yet he’s in the front of the pack in terms of how he goes about his business,” Palyo added. “He’s mindful in his approach. He’s aware of others. He’s driven and determined to achieve the absolute best, and he pulls others along with him. He models work ethic, behavior, and self-management, all consistent with our school values. And he knows how to use his voice. When Krystian Williams speaks, everybody pays attention. There’s no doubt about that.”

 

Growing up, Williams played soccer, basketball, and football and joined Collegiate’s track program when he was an 8th Grader. At about the same time, he began training with Leonard Hopkins, a former all-star wide receiver at John Marshall High School and Norfolk State who went on to play for the Green Bay Packers.

 

After watching the young Krystian in action, Hopkins, the CEO of HopFit Nation, told his mother Veronica, a former track athlete at John Marshall, This kid is different. What he meant was that Krystian had a rare combination of athleticism, natural talent, work ethic, and coachability.

 

“Hearing that made the dream of being an athlete real for me,” Williams said, “so I just kept pushing and working hard.”

 

Though he (and everyone else) missed the spring of 2020 because of Covid, Williams burst onto the track scene in his first meet as a 10th Grader when he broke Collegiate’s long jump record with a leap of 23-1.5. While his performance created quite a buzz around the track, he seemed unfazed by the magnitude of his accomplishment.

 

“I really didn’t understand what I’d done,” he said. “My technique was off. There were certain things I needed to fix. I was still learning the process.”

 

By the end of that season, he’d increased his mark to 23-8.75. His junior year, he went 24-1.5 indoors, a distance that ranked him among the best in the nation.

 

He’s also competed in the triple jump (45-1 personal best), high jump (6-2), 100 (11.30) and 200 (23.32) outdoors, and 55 (6.60) indoors, as well as run a leg of the 4x100 relay outdoors and 4x200 indoors. He’s a sure bet to place in multiple events in championship competition and has won league three league titles (twice in the long jump and once in the high jump) and the state title in the long jump in the spring of 2021.

 

“Krystian has a love for competing,” said Brent Miller, head boys track coach and horizontal jumps coach. “That’s infectious throughout the team. He’s talented and has no ego. When his teammates see him working hard and having success, he doesn’t boast about it. He doesn’t draw attention to himself. He acts like he’s been there before.”

 

This past winter, Williams injured his left hamstring running the 55 in the VISAA championship, then reinjured it in the first outdoor meet at Norfolk Academy March 22. What he hoped would be a quick rehab kept him in the training room and out of competition until the state meet May 21. In the only event in which he qualified, he placed second in the long jump at 22-11.5

 

One morning recently, Williams spoke of his journey, which has included its share of highs, which he has handled with equanimity, and lows, which he has handled without complaint or excuse.

 

 

 

I got a lot closer with a lot of my teammates. I got to know the throwers better, sprinters better. Got around the team more and supported them. They were all worried about me. I’m like, “Let’s focus on you all. Let’s win this meet.” They’ve always supported me. It was cool to give that back to them.

 

 

  ~Weldon Bradshaw