Q&A with Southeastern coach Dominique Williams
One of the new hires over the offseason that we knew would pay big dividends was that of Dominique Williams at Southeastern Regional in South Easton.
Williams, a former safety who played his high school ball at Brockton High and continued his career at Boston College, acting as a captain at both programs, put together a young, energetic staff at Southeastern that has lit a spark into a team that enters a bye week with a 2-1 record.
We spoke to Williams briefly Wednesday about his team and what he sees going forward for the Hawks.
This is an edited version of that conversation.
MassVarsity: First off, I want to ask you about the team in general. What's it like coaching this team, and how has it been so far meeting your expectations and all that?
DW: This team has been phenomenal. The way they've been able to just adapt to our coaching style has been awesome. They've been really open, and they've bought in to everything that the coaches are saying, all the way down from me to all the assistant coaches. I think each player is just coming to practice trying to be the best football player that they can be. It's been awesome, and it's shown in our games I would say. I get a lot of good comments from bystanders that they love the atmosphere, they love the passion that these kids are playing with, and that energy and that enthusiasm that they're playing with. It's awesome. I think it's great.
MV: When I talk to coaches from smaller schools, numbers are always an issue. I don't know hw many kids you have total. What's the participation like, and how do you have to adjust to that?
DW: We don't have the numbers like Division 1 or Division 2 programs, but I think our numbers are somewhat on the larger end of the scale than some of our opponents. We made cuts, and we had to make about five or six cuts. We carried on about 68 kids. We're still floating around 62, 63 kids right now. We had a couple kids just decide that football wasn't for them. Another kid, he had to make a life decision. He had to start working to provide for himself. We only lost three or four kids, and another kid to bad grades already, which is unfortunate, but for the most part, we're still floating around 60 kids.
MV: That's a lot of kids.
DW: Yeah, it is.
MV: Tell me a little bit about junior running back Kevin Opoku. It seems like he's an explosive kid. Obviously, he's small (his listed height and weight is 5-foot-6, 156 pounds), but it seems like he's got that football speed. You can use him on jet sweeps. You can use him on downhill runs. How versatile is he, and what does he bring to the team?
DW: He's very versatile. First off, he's a leader. That's something that I kind of pushed on to him. I told him, "Listen, you've always been one of the fastest kids on this team. Now that you're one of the fastest kids in our league, I think you've got to not only participate on the field, but carry yourself like a leader." That's one thing that has jumped up to me and one thing that has caught my attention, is him being a leader. He was voted a captain by his teammates, and he's only a junior. He had one of the highest votes as a captain. What he produces on the field is just phenomenal. He's a speed demon, but he's got a rare combination of speed and power. You look at him, he's short, but he's ripped. He's fast, so when he hits that hole between the guards, you've got to thump him, because he's not afraid to lower his shoulder. He'll run over a safety and linebacker. But then when you get him to the outside, he's a home run threat.
MV: Is he one of those guys that once he's in a college program, his freshman year, he could be 185, 190, and still be really fast?
DW: Oh, absolutely. He's a kid that hasn't really done anything. That's his natural weight right there. He hasn't had time to hit the gym because he's a three-sport athlete, which is tough to play three sports and gain weight, and juggle the academics. He's the starting point guard for the varsity basketball team, and he runs track. He runs the 4x100 meters, he runs the 100, and then he runs the 200 all spring. So when this kid buckles down and just does a legitimate workout program, which I believe he will do it this year, with me and my uncle Mike (Williams) and buy into our offseason program, you're looking at a kid who will put on another 10, 15 pounds.
MV: Now, senior wide receiver Guabi Pires, with him, I remember seeing some of the kids at those workouts. Obviously, at those workouts, there are college kids, former college players who come back to work with the other guys. Even back then, he was making plays. And I remember talking to you this summer, how you were excited about him. Is he somebody that has that potential to play at the scholarship level?
DW: Yeah, and unfortunately, and this is just the dynamics of it, that he's a late bloomer. He's one of those kids who has been told basketball, basketball, basketball his whole life. So up until now, he's starting to realize that football is the next step, that football is his No. 1 sport. So he's a late bloomer. He has only done one camp. He only did the UConn camp. But the season that he's producing, just the three games, he's done a lot. We're not really a throwing team, but when we throw it up there, he's going to get it every time. He's a guy that will out-jump anybody, and he's got sure hands. And he's not afraid to play defense, either. Last game, he started corner, he started punt return, he started kick return, and he started at the "X." So I think he's finally starting to buy in and realize, as good as he is at basketball, he's special at football. He's got that competitive attitude that every time he steps on the field, the guy that lines up across from him, he's not better than me.
MV: That's one of the things I noticed watching him. Those jump balls, a lot of times, that is not a high-percentage play. But it is kind of a high-percentage play with him.
DW: He's got an ability to just track the ball. I think that's just his basketball skills coming into the football field, but his timing, his jump ball mechanics and everything, it's natural and so smooth. When you watch him catch the ball, it's just effortless. And he's stronger that he looks, too. He's about 6-1, maybe 165 pounds, 170 pounds, but he's strong. He's not wiry. When you look at his legs, he's got a strong base to him. His leaping ability, you see it on film, he's out-jumping any defender.
MV: Anyone else you want to mention who has played well for you so far?
DW: Not so much both ways, but our quarterback is just phenomenal. It's James Cordon. He's a sophomore, and I think the best is yet to come for him. I know the best is yet to come for him. Right now, he's got guys that are making plays for him, and the guys that are making the plays are getting the credit, but the quarterback, he's legit. The team voted him a captain. He's a sophomore.
MV: That's impressive. You almost never see that.
DW: It's kind of one of those things that, "Do we make him captain? He's a sophomore." But he's stepped up. He's a grade-A student. His academics are off the charts. His arm is strong. He can throw the ball 60 yards as a sophomore. And this is his first year playing quarterback, too. He was a running back last year as freshman.
Williams, a former safety who played his high school ball at Brockton High and continued his career at Boston College, acting as a captain at both programs, put together a young, energetic staff at Southeastern that has lit a spark into a team that enters a bye week with a 2-1 record.
We spoke to Williams briefly Wednesday about his team and what he sees going forward for the Hawks.
This is an edited version of that conversation.
MassVarsity: First off, I want to ask you about the team in general. What's it like coaching this team, and how has it been so far meeting your expectations and all that?
DW: This team has been phenomenal. The way they've been able to just adapt to our coaching style has been awesome. They've been really open, and they've bought in to everything that the coaches are saying, all the way down from me to all the assistant coaches. I think each player is just coming to practice trying to be the best football player that they can be. It's been awesome, and it's shown in our games I would say. I get a lot of good comments from bystanders that they love the atmosphere, they love the passion that these kids are playing with, and that energy and that enthusiasm that they're playing with. It's awesome. I think it's great.
MV: When I talk to coaches from smaller schools, numbers are always an issue. I don't know hw many kids you have total. What's the participation like, and how do you have to adjust to that?
DW: We don't have the numbers like Division 1 or Division 2 programs, but I think our numbers are somewhat on the larger end of the scale than some of our opponents. We made cuts, and we had to make about five or six cuts. We carried on about 68 kids. We're still floating around 62, 63 kids right now. We had a couple kids just decide that football wasn't for them. Another kid, he had to make a life decision. He had to start working to provide for himself. We only lost three or four kids, and another kid to bad grades already, which is unfortunate, but for the most part, we're still floating around 60 kids.
MV: That's a lot of kids.
DW: Yeah, it is.
MV: Tell me a little bit about junior running back Kevin Opoku. It seems like he's an explosive kid. Obviously, he's small (his listed height and weight is 5-foot-6, 156 pounds), but it seems like he's got that football speed. You can use him on jet sweeps. You can use him on downhill runs. How versatile is he, and what does he bring to the team?
DW: He's very versatile. First off, he's a leader. That's something that I kind of pushed on to him. I told him, "Listen, you've always been one of the fastest kids on this team. Now that you're one of the fastest kids in our league, I think you've got to not only participate on the field, but carry yourself like a leader." That's one thing that has jumped up to me and one thing that has caught my attention, is him being a leader. He was voted a captain by his teammates, and he's only a junior. He had one of the highest votes as a captain. What he produces on the field is just phenomenal. He's a speed demon, but he's got a rare combination of speed and power. You look at him, he's short, but he's ripped. He's fast, so when he hits that hole between the guards, you've got to thump him, because he's not afraid to lower his shoulder. He'll run over a safety and linebacker. But then when you get him to the outside, he's a home run threat.
MV: Is he one of those guys that once he's in a college program, his freshman year, he could be 185, 190, and still be really fast?
DW: Oh, absolutely. He's a kid that hasn't really done anything. That's his natural weight right there. He hasn't had time to hit the gym because he's a three-sport athlete, which is tough to play three sports and gain weight, and juggle the academics. He's the starting point guard for the varsity basketball team, and he runs track. He runs the 4x100 meters, he runs the 100, and then he runs the 200 all spring. So when this kid buckles down and just does a legitimate workout program, which I believe he will do it this year, with me and my uncle Mike (Williams) and buy into our offseason program, you're looking at a kid who will put on another 10, 15 pounds.
MV: Now, senior wide receiver Guabi Pires, with him, I remember seeing some of the kids at those workouts. Obviously, at those workouts, there are college kids, former college players who come back to work with the other guys. Even back then, he was making plays. And I remember talking to you this summer, how you were excited about him. Is he somebody that has that potential to play at the scholarship level?
DW: Yeah, and unfortunately, and this is just the dynamics of it, that he's a late bloomer. He's one of those kids who has been told basketball, basketball, basketball his whole life. So up until now, he's starting to realize that football is the next step, that football is his No. 1 sport. So he's a late bloomer. He has only done one camp. He only did the UConn camp. But the season that he's producing, just the three games, he's done a lot. We're not really a throwing team, but when we throw it up there, he's going to get it every time. He's a guy that will out-jump anybody, and he's got sure hands. And he's not afraid to play defense, either. Last game, he started corner, he started punt return, he started kick return, and he started at the "X." So I think he's finally starting to buy in and realize, as good as he is at basketball, he's special at football. He's got that competitive attitude that every time he steps on the field, the guy that lines up across from him, he's not better than me.
MV: That's one of the things I noticed watching him. Those jump balls, a lot of times, that is not a high-percentage play. But it is kind of a high-percentage play with him.
DW: He's got an ability to just track the ball. I think that's just his basketball skills coming into the football field, but his timing, his jump ball mechanics and everything, it's natural and so smooth. When you watch him catch the ball, it's just effortless. And he's stronger that he looks, too. He's about 6-1, maybe 165 pounds, 170 pounds, but he's strong. He's not wiry. When you look at his legs, he's got a strong base to him. His leaping ability, you see it on film, he's out-jumping any defender.
MV: Anyone else you want to mention who has played well for you so far?
DW: Not so much both ways, but our quarterback is just phenomenal. It's James Cordon. He's a sophomore, and I think the best is yet to come for him. I know the best is yet to come for him. Right now, he's got guys that are making plays for him, and the guys that are making the plays are getting the credit, but the quarterback, he's legit. The team voted him a captain. He's a sophomore.
MV: That's impressive. You almost never see that.
DW: It's kind of one of those things that, "Do we make him captain? He's a sophomore." But he's stepped up. He's a grade-A student. His academics are off the charts. His arm is strong. He can throw the ball 60 yards as a sophomore. And this is his first year playing quarterback, too. He was a running back last year as freshman.
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