Chelsea basketball had a great class of freshmen come in for the 2024-25 season, as they kick off their high school basketball careers. One of these players was freshman Colin Williams, who did not only just have his first year of high school basketball in Chelsea, but it was also his first year in Chelsea School District. He made a statement in his first year, being a starter on the freshman team and producing and playing as one of the best players on the court.

“My first year has been good, I’ve really enjoyed things athletic-wise and other things.” Said Colin.

Colin, coming into a new school, especially as a freshman can be difficult and a struggle to find a way to fit in, but he has no problem finding where he fits in or finding the positives throughout his day. Basketball definitely added a lot to his plate but he embraced it and made it the best experience possible.

“It was definitely a lot, but I feel like I got better every day, and it was fun to play for a good coach and a good team,” Williams said.

Relationships are always important in sports, and keeping good company to have great team chemistry on and off the court, helped Colin a lot throughout his season.

“I felt that I built a good relationship with my coach who I’ve never met before,” Williams said.

No individual player or team in sports can avoid its trials and challenges, but just cause they come up doesn’t mean a team or player can’t get stronger cause of them, and oftentimes the best players emerge because of their perseverance to get through their own trials.

“Definitely lacked motivation sometimes, practicing every day and 2 to 3 games a week got pretty tiring, but I kept working and got over it,” Williams said.

Even at the freshman level, rivalries can still get Heated, and when it comes time to play Dexter there is no Love from anyone on the court, and it’s do or die to win. And Colin takes no exception to losing and he goes all out to sink the ship.

“Dexter definitely got really heated in the game, lots of smack talk. It definitely benefits my game, to get the other players rattled up a bit, I like that.” Williams said.

The most important thing in sports is to keep a good mental state and to stay level-headed. This is crucial to Colin to stay on top of his game, and he takes pride in being a standout player and also a teammate.

“Keeping the same work ethic that my teammates have around me, and take what they tell me to do to get better, and remember to get 1% better every day,” Williams said.