The Goulburn Valley Grammar School sports prefect is throwing the kitchen sink at realising the dreams of every football fan growing up - to hear his name called out on AFL draft night.
Around the same time though, his Year 12 exams will be wrapping up, and it’s not something he’s willing to push to the background.
Williams has played all three games for the Bushrangers so far this season, notably thriving in a switch to the backline in Murray’s latest hit-out against the Northern Knights.
There are long hours on the road, a need for sharp mental focus and dedication to physical recovery, but the 17-year-old is committed to the process of the Talent League program, all while in his final, and most important, year of schooling.
While Williams stated football is “plan A, B, C, D and E”, he understands there is a chance the lottery of the draft may not fall his way, and thus, is equally dedicated to working towards a tertiary education.
With an interest in science, Williams wants to study hard and secure an ATAR that will successfully guarantee entrance to a bachelor’s degree.
The unknowingness of whether Williams’ AFL aspirations will happen means for the next seven months, the Bears talent will prepare for two careers after high school - yet only one will be picked by year’s end.
Williams reflects that it is a difficult balance, and the thought of picking one or the other to deplete his workload crosses his mind regularly.
“It honestly pops up weekly, you know, ‘what do I want to do here?’” Williams said.
“I really want to focus on football, it’s the dream, but you’ve got to have another plan.
“Football is plan A, B, C, D and E, but beyond that it’s school and uni.
“There’s a very fine line, with school, football and a social life.
“There’s heaps of travel - we have trainings in Wangaratta on Wednesdays, so after school, a few other boys from Grammar that play Bushies tend to do a carpool, straight from the school carpark to ‘Wang’.
“We get there around 5:30pm, training until 7:30pm to eight-ish, and then jump back in the car and probably not home until 10:30pm or even a little later.
“It can mentally fatigue you, but it’s just finding the balance I guess, I’m still figuring it out as I move forward.”
However, there is emerging support for the burgeoning talent.
La Trobe University’s recent partnership with the Murray Bushrangers aims to alleviate pressure from the region’s top prospects, and guide players into tertiary education if their AFL dreams aren’t realised straight out of school.
“La Trobe offer over-age scholarships and that sort of thing through the football program, which has been awesome,” Williams said.
“I probably will look at that moving forward into next year.
“We also got a tour at the Bundoora campus and their courses seem unreal there... that was really eye-opening in itself.
“But they’ve been huge in supporting us players and the over-age boys who have come back this year, to support them finding a career path.”
Shepparton boasts a local La Trobe campus also, while another is also situated in Albury-Wodonga, something that provides Williams confidence his tertiary studies can be achieved.
La Trobe’s Shepparton head of campus Laura Baker depicted the importance of the two regional locations.
“Having two of La Trobe’s regional campuses in Shepparton and Albury‑Wodonga at the centre of the Murray Bushrangers’ catchment makes this a genuinely local partnership,” she said.
“The program’s focus on leadership, resilience and personal growth reflects our shared commitment to supporting young people to thrive in sport, education and life beyond the game.”
And with La Trobe’s backing, there’s hope the balance of education and football will ease for Williams, with support to fall on for a career outside of football.
16°C