Carbon High Head Softball Coach Wade Williams was recently let go by Principal Chris Winfree and Superintendent Lance Hatch. I wanted to express what a shame and loss this is to the girls’ softball program as well as the community. Good coaches in today’s world are hard to come by, and wrongful terminations like his make it even harder to find coaches willing to coach.
Year after year, Coach Williams has built on his team’s successes. Since becoming head coach in 2016, he has never had a losing season. Not only have his teams won, but they have represented the community well. His teams have had the opportunity to win but also the privilege of experiencing sports in a positive and safe culture. He and his staff have held themselves to a high standard, focusing not just on the sport itself, but on molding these young women into good adults. They have established a culture of hard work, unity and winning. Coach Williams is constantly pushing his team, his staff and himself to learn, study and grow in the game.
The fairgrounds complex has never looked better. Wade, his staff and team have taken pride in their home fields. I personally have never seen the complex in better condition. Wade personally built a hitting cage and hitting screens on the side of those fields. Anyone who knows softball knows what a huge advantage this is to a team. Practices are where you win games, and being able to efficiently run a practice is where that battle is won. These have not only benefited the high school team but the youth in the community. They are constantly being used from the USU Eastern team all the way down to beginners.
Just recently, Coach Williams organized the Corona Classic Tournament that took place in Price. He personally called every 3A coach in the state of Utah to invite them to participate. This allowed for the teams to have as close to a 3A State Championship as possible since the COVID-19 pandemic ended their season after only three games. This tournament was a huge success for Carbon High as well as Carbon County. Ten teams from across the state participated. The turnout of spectators was amazing. Not only did the softball teams benefit from the experience, but local businesses did as well. This truly was a testament of how much Coach Williams cares about his players. He gifted his seniors, Emery High’s seniors and eight other schools’ seniors a chance to play one last time as a team and have closure that otherwise they would have not experienced. It seems odd that Principal Winfree cited not knowing of this tournament as a reason for the firing, when in my eyes it was only a positive.
Coach Williams has been a fantastic coach and mentor for years to the youth and sports programs in Carbon County. I’m sure the negative is much louder than the positive in his life, so I personally just wanted to say thank you. Your time, talents and energy were not wasted. You have affected these girls’ lives for the positive and that is all any coach hopes to accomplish.
Whitney Rowley
Springville, UT
ETV News invites you to share your opinions with its readers. Letters to the editor should include your full name, address and phone number. Only your name and the city you live in will be published. We do not publish anonymous letters. Letters can be emailed to sdraper@emerytelcom.com or mailed to ETV News, 625 E 100 N, Price, UT 84501.
*Disclaimer: The views expressed in Letters to the Editor are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the opinion or policy of ETV News or Emery Telcom.