Gun Gympie goalie blazing the trail in US college system

19-year-old Williams gears up for post-COVID sophomore season in Arizona.

Gympie soccer star Eligh Williams has many more goals to accomplish at Yavapai College.

FOOTBALL: The coronavirus pandemic brought inevitable delays to gun Gympie goalkeeper Eligh Williams’ journey with Yavapai College in the US, but the 19-year-old remains poised to grab his next opportunity with both hands.

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Gympie soccer star Eligh Williams

The former Southport School and Sunshine Coast Fire talent last year accepted a football scholarship to Yavapai in Arizona, going on to enjoy plenty of on-pitch action in his freshman year.

Williams made 11 appearances for the Roughriders, earning 8 wins with 43 saves at an 82.7 per cent save rate – per the National Junior College Athletic Association – before COVID-19 cut short his off-season program.

“I had to head back to Australia and do all my classes online. We’re on summer break now, and I’m looking to go back soon,” Williams said.

Gympie soccer star Eligh Williams

“I’ve been training every day, up to three times a day. I do gym sessions three times a day with cardio and running and stuff like that in the middle of the day, and then trying to get on the park to do some ball work and get some reps in to make sure everything’s up to speed before I head over.

“I think we’ll have A shortened pre-season, and that’s why it’s so important for us to be fit and fresh to get over there. Especially at Yavapai, where the altitude is 1000 feet above sea level.”

MORE ON ELIGH WILLIAMS

Zoom meetings and online training sessions have become the new normal for Williams since returning to Australian shores, but a return to Yavapai around September remains on the cards.

That would be right on time for his sophomore campaign, which he hopes will bear even more fruit than the last.

“It (last season) was really really enjoyable, and as a freshman I got a lot of game time, it’s a different game style over there to here and then Europe, in the sense of tactics and stuff like that,” he said.

Gympie soccer star Eligh Williams

“We won our conference, it was a three-way tie. We got knocked out in the first round of playoffs which was really disappointing, but on the flip side we’re hosting nationals this year so we’re really looking forward to having some success.

“We have a lot of newcomers which is great, and hopefully the leaders like myself can set an example and we can go for that championship win.

“I want to play every game. I know that’s probably not going to happen with rotations and playing three games a week at times, but I’m trying to play every game I possibly can.”

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