Prodigious talents: The Williams sisters are finishing up their senior year…of middle school and garnering plenty of attention from colleges for their softball prowess

The weather was just terrible in Michigan two weeks ago, as it is for most weeks during the winter months. The low was a balmy 19 degrees; the high was expected to be a few degrees more. It’s just something Michiganders are used to and deal with every year. However, the Williams girls, mother Natalie and twin 13-year-old sisters Ellie and Emma, were in Ann Arbor for more than just the snow that Georgia didn’t get this winter. They were invited by Wolverines softball head coach Carol Hutchins and assistant head coaches Jennifer Brundage and Bonnie Tholl. Did I mention that the Williams twins, Ellie and Emma, er uh, Emma and Ellie, are 13 years old. The girls played major roles on the 2016 varsity Westfield School Lady Hornets softball team and during travel ball season with the Georgia Impact Fastpitch Organization. The word prodigy is thrown around a lot these days — musicians, actors and actresses — but what about teenage softball players that have already been invited to visit two of the biggest NCAA Division I athletic programs in the country?

“When I was 13 years old,” says Natalie, “I was playing Pac-Man at the mall.”

“They’ve got some ability, so that’s helpful,” says father David Williams, as he attempts to tamper the oncoming pressure that the twins will no doubt receive as their careers develop. “Obviously we’re proud of them, and they are good kids.”

The Westfield School Lady Hornets softball coach Danny Camp, no stranger to baseball being played at a high level, is a bit more straight-forward when it comes to the girls’ abilities.

“The girls are elite; they’re special. Players like that don’t come through as often as you would like,” says Camp.

The sky’s the limit for The Westfield School Lady Hornets, and the key to any future success will have a lot to do with the Williams twins and how they handle the attention and responsibility that comes with the physical gifts that God has blessed them with.

“The game has already taken them all over the place,” says Camp referring to the college trips and many travel tournaments the girls have been on over the past few years. “I really believe softball is going to take Ellie and Emma a long way in life.”

The visit to the University of Michigan and its significance at this juncture of their lives might not have totally dawned on the girls.

“It was great,” says Ellie of their invites to Michigan and Syracuse University. “It was cool to explore something different from Georgia.”

On Syracuse, Emma says, “The coaches were very nice; we got to see them practice. I had never done anything like that before.” The way things are going, it won’t be their last trip.

A young lady of minimal conversation, “I’m not much of a talker, but I’ll try my best,” Emma is more of a doer. “There is a huge difference,” says Natalie about her daughter’s dichotomy. “Emma walked first and everything seems to come easier for her — academics, athletics. It all came natural to her.” On Ellie, “She has the heart and is so aggressive, but at the same time is so happy and upbeat. She’s got that X-factor.”

Staying humble despite

Talking with Ellie and Emma’s mother, Natalie, you get an immediate feel for the girls’ busy schedules and equally confused on how they are so quiet. Talking to Natalie is like talking to your childhood friend after a yearlong hiatus. There’s no room for silence or nonsensical chitchat. Every word is worth something, special, informative.

“They really rolled out the red carpet for us,” says Natalie about their visits to the University of Michigan and Syracuse. On the temperature in Ann Arbor, “I was freezing, but I thought it was very neat.” One can easily see where the girls get their mix of seriousness and silliness when you speak with their mother. That duality has been a major tool in keeping them grounded as they grow in stature and skill sets; not everyone gets to be key players on both their high school and travel teams before they are barely old enough to go see PG movies alone.

“Both Ellie and Emma get along so well with our older players,” says Camp. “I have been coaching a long time and I can already see that they are going to be special.”

Father David likes to recite a famous Tim Tebow quote whenever describing why he thinks his twin girls are receiving the attention that they are getting because of their softball prowess.

“‘Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard,’” repeats David. “At the end of the day, sports come and go but how they conduct themselves is for life.”

The girls have been playing baseball/T-ball as little kids and softball as their skills advanced since they were very young.

“We’ve been playing fast pitch since we were 8 years old,” says Ellie.

Starting with David in the backyard after school, it was evident early on that both girls, born six minutes apart with Ellie the elder, were going to be good.

“Having twins was an advantage because when I came home from work, they would already be throwing,” says David. “I knew enough [about the game] to get them started.”

Practice makes perfect and takes patience

On a warm Wednesday last week, the Williams’ made time to talk on what would be a busy day. Unbeknownst to me, a day of school, basketball practice — Ellie and Emma both play on the Lady Hornets eighth grade basketball team — pitching practice in McDonough at DW Athletics with Emma’s pitching coach Dave Wallace, is a normal day in their life. While at DW, Ellie keeps busy charting and calls pitches, ever the catcher. “Even though they are both pretty good athletes, I can’t make light about the amount practice they give weekly,” says Natalie. “I want to give thanks to Jason Gusael (of Georgia Impact) and Danny Camp for all of the work they do with the girls,” says David. Emma has been working with Wallace for three years.

The game of basketball also gives the girls a chance to stay sharp while also taking some much needed time off from softball. “I think basketball is a great stress relief for the girls,” says Natalie.

“Basketball is not as serious as softball,” says Ellie, “and it’s fun to play at school with my friends.” But not too much time off. Softball, to the Williams sisters, is clearly not just a game. “I don’t think I’d ever get bored playing softball,” says Emma. “Softball is pretty much my life because I train for it every day,” says Ellie. “I miss a lot of activities because of it, but there’s nothing else I’d rather do.” She was sure to immediately add, “I could play softball every day.”

Believe it or not, there are things that Emma and Ellie find interesting off of the softball diamond. Natalie tells me of how Emma wants to be an FBI agent or a member of law enforcement in the future. “Ever since I was young I wanted to do that,” says Emma of becoming an FBI agent. “You’d get to go to so many places.”

I am told that Ellie has interest in becoming a doctor. “She’s got the type of work ethic necessary to do that,” says Natalie. “The main thing is to study hard and get an education,” says David. By all accounts, the Williams girls are good students and prepare as hard for a pop test or midterm exam as they do for a pop fly or a middle inning meeting at the mound.

The options are plenty and have no boundaries

Ellie and Emma each made the GISA All-Region first team following stellar 2017 seasons. Ellie hit .440 with 37 hits, 26 RIB and two home runs. She only struck out three times all season despite primarily playing catcher. Emma hit .409 with 36 hits and 21 RBI with a home run while pitching 111 innings and compiling a 13-5 won-loss record with 129 strikeouts. Both were included amongst the players named to the All-Middle Georgia Honorable Mention list. The high school season done, the Williams girls are set to spend the “off-season” this summer traveling with the rest of the team and staff on their travel team, Georgia Impact, at tournaments in California, Colorado, Florida and New York.

Last season, the team played tournaments at Seton Hall in New Jersey and at Fordham University in the Bronx, New York. “If they decided to quit today, I’m sure they could be just as good at something else,” says David. “I just want them to be happy.”

“If you step back and look at it,” says Natalie with a chuckle, “they’re kind of good. My dream for them is to use softball as a vehicle for college. My hopes are that they use their athletic abilities for that.” I guess the Williams family will have to add Michigan and Syracuse to the list of cities to revisit in the near future.

“[The University of] Michigan is my top option right now,” says Emma.

“I loved everything about it,” she said about the family’s snowy trip to Ann Arbor. “I’d love to go to school at Michigan.”

Turning 14 on Monday, Jan. 30, the girls have plenty of time and many more visits to make before making up their minds. FBI agent, doctor, members of the University of Michigan Wolverine softball team or shoveling snow off the softball practice fields at Syracuse University, their options are plenty and have no boundary.

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