A CHANGED LIFE! REMEMBERING COACH ERNEST WILLIAMS

ERNEST WILLIAMS WAS THE PRIME EXAMPLE OF HOW A SENSE OF COMMUNITY CAN CHANGE THE LIFE OF A YOUNG PERSON. AS A CHICAGO INNER CITY YOUTH, AND A PRODUCT OF THE CHICAGO PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM, ERNEST BECAME A PREMIER AND ALL-AROUND HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETE FOR REZIN ORR HIGH SCHOOL, FROM 1981-1985. BECAUSE OF ERNEST'S INVOLVEMENT IN SPORTS, AND THE PERSISTENCE AND DEDICATION OF HIS HIGH SCHOOL COACH AND MENTOR, COACH THOMAS J. ROBINSON, M.ED., ERNEST AVOIDED THE PITFALLS OF THE INNER CITY AND MANY OF THE ILLS THAT PLAGUED THE INNER CITY DURING THE LATE 1980s AND EARLY 1990s. UPON GRADUATING FROM HIGH SCHOOL, ERNEST LEARNED TO TAKE HIS HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETIC EXPERIENCES, AND LEVERAGE HIS DISCIPLINE AND LEADERSHIP SKILLS BY SERVING THE COMMUNITY, VOLUNTEERING, AND ULTIMATELY, GIVING BACK TO THE YOUTH BY SERVING AS HEAD COACH FOR HIS ALMA MATER, REZIN ORR HIGH SCHOOL. HIS LIFE WAS CHANGED, AND AS A RESULT, HE HAD THE TOOLS AND DETERMINATION TO HELP PAY-IT-FORWARD, AND HELP CHANGE THE LIVES OF OTHERS.

IN 2017, ERNEST WAS INDUCTED INTO THE AMERICAN FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION'S HALL OF FAME, DUE TO HIS OUTSTANDING SEMI-PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL CAREER AS A TEAM MEMBER AND LEADER FOR THE CHICAGO FALCONS SEMI-PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL TEAM. PLEASE TAKE TIME TO ENJOY AS HIS MENTOR/COACH/AND PSEUDO-FATHER, COACH THOMAS J. ROBINSON INTRODUCES ERNEST WILLIAMS, AS HE ACCEPTS HIS INDUCTION. PLEASE NOTE HIS COMPELLING NARRATIVE OF HOW FOOTBALL CHANGED HIS LIFE. REMEMBERING ERNEST WILLIAMS, A CHANGED LIFE!