Senior Kevin Williams Jr. has been playing baseball since he was 4 years old. It’s a sporting tradition passed down to him from his father, criminal justice teacher and softball coach, Kevin Williams Sr.

Williams Sr. played baseball in high school for three years and coached his son all the way through to the AAU league but stopped when his son hit high school. “In high school it was time to let go,”said Williams Sr.

Williams Jr. credits his dad for becoming the person and athlete he is today. “My role model is my dad. He imposes a good influence on me. He knows a lot about the game and I believe he turned me into who I am now.”

Wiliams Jr. is the closer, the pitcher that comes when there are about 10 pitches left to get more outs for the team and to fill in for the tiring starting pitcher.

“I never thought of being a closer but I always used to pitch. Coach [Pat] Russo saw me pitching and thought I could throw side arm if I tried and it worked. If I started I would probably injure my arm. He [Russo] has put a definite improvement in my pitching with a few changes here and there.”

Sidearm is where you pitch at about a 180-degree rotation, rather than the overhead 90 degrees.

This type of pitching benefits Williams Jr., who suffers from tendinitis, which is an inflammation of a tendon. “Closing takes a lot of work and concentration because I have to focus on trying to strike every batter out.”

“When Kevin closes, he’s one of the best in the county. If I was the batter going up against him I would be afraid,” said Williams Sr., adding that he gets a “proud feeling” when he watches his son pitch.

But baseball is not the only thing going for Williams; he also has qualified for the Bright Futures scholarship.

He currently has a 3.6 GPA. Kevin plans to attend medical school to become a plastic surgeon or anesthesiologist while also being an athlete on the side.

“Although that will be a lot of school work for an athlete I think I can handle it.” And he should, right now Williams is taking AP and honors courses while playing baseball.

But at Tampa Catholic it was a different story, “My freshman and sophomore year were harder because I played baseball, basketball and football.”

Williams stopped playing the other sports because baseball was his best sport and he figured it would give him better chances to receive athletic scholarships.

Williams has high hopes for the team this year. “This year we have a big opportunity to make it to states. We definitely have the talent, we just need to keep that team mentality.”

Williams has helped the team some this year but not as much as usual due to his tendinitis, but he should be ready to pitch more by districts next week.