Only two players in the country can win the Jersey Mike’s Naismith High School Basketball Courage award. Out of hundreds of nominees, one of the winners is right here in Central Florida.
Justin Williams, a senior shooting guard at Foundation Academy, was born with Apert Syndrome, which impacts the formation of the head, feet and hands. Williams has had twelve surgeries.
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“It just means that I’ve been pushing really hard and just working every single day and trying to do things every day to the best of my ability,” Williams said after winning the award. " I just want to show them that they can do anything and it doesn’t matter what you’re going through or what’s happening in your life. Just to always push through and trust in God, and it’ll all work out.”
“Everybody just loves Justin,” said Nathaniel Hughes, head boys’ basketball coach. “He’d be the first one to celebrate somebody else, so it’s cool to see everybody celebrating him.”
Williams picked up playing basketball with his dad when he was 6 or 7 years old. Now, he is a leader on the Foundation Academy team.
Last season, Foundation had a 15-9 record, and Williams scored a career-high 17 points in one game.
“Foundation (Academy) has been... they’re family, along with all of our family that we have,” said Justin’s mom, Stacy Williams. “Justin getting this award is amazing.”
One day, Williams hopes to be a coach. But for now, he enjoys shooting threes.
“I think I bring like the glue—I hold everyone together,” Williams said. “Whenever someone’s down or having a bad day, I think I can help them get through it, and we can all become a family.”
Coach Hughes hopes other athletes see Williams’ example and be inspired by it.
“I hope that they see his example of what it means to be a teammate, what it means to be selfless, what it means to just give your all every day,” Hughes said.