Every team needs its captain.
Taking on that role requires not only the confidence in oneself to lead by example, but often the social prowess to instill that same confidence in one’s teammates. To encourage them at a moment’s notice.
Fortunately for the Travis Tigers volleyball program, their team captain junior setter Ava Williams has prowess to spare.
“Being the captain, I’ve become a very vocal person and I like to keep everyone involved,” she said. “I take my time to make sure I go out of my way to get to know every teammate that I have, so that we can all bond and play well together as a team. The best teams have the best connections.
“Other than playing volleyball, we will do our best to bond with each other outside of the game. For example, we went out into the woods together without our phones to see how we would manage. We’ll do team dinners and other things together to keep that dynamic strong.”
Volleyball is a full-time gig for Williams.
In addition to playing for Travis and the teams that preceded her time at the school, she competed at Houston Skyline with her sister until she was 15 years old, before moving over to her current club team Katy United.
“I started playing when I was really young and have just kept going with it,” said Williams. “Since then it’s always been a part of my life, with both my club and school teams. I just can’t get away from it. I also ran track in middle school, but when high school started I knew that volleyball was something I had to fully commit myself to.”
So what does the future hold for this junior Tiger?
“I definitely want to play in college,” Williams said. “I’ve been leaning towards the Florida area, so I’ve been in contact with schools over there. I haven’t decided what I’ve wanted to major in yet, but I think I want to go into the Sports Entertainment industry at some point. As an athlete, you want to be around other athletes, and that seems like it would be an interactive and fun job for me.”
Williams is clearly a people person. That’s something she likely picked up in her time at Travis, which she holds in high regard.
“I think Travis is one of the best schools in Fort Bend,” she said. “The academics, athletics, and amount of diversity we have has allowed me to excel as a person because I've been exposed to different types of people and ideas. Travis has the environment that can prepare any student for the real world and that will be incredibly beneficial for me, further down the road.”
Keep an eye out for Williams as she and her team undergo their remaining district schedule. Given how vocal she is, it won’t be hard to miss her.