WS Chronicle

Amira Williams is a sophomore athlete for the Titans of West Forsyth.  She not only excels on the ,t but is an All-State caliber high jumper for the Titan track team as well.  From all accounts, Williams has the talent and drive to achieve any goal she sets her mind to, on or off the court.

Williams is a guard for the Titans varsity basketball team and says she loves every aspect of the game of basketball.  She is considered a defensive specialist by her coaches and is one of the better players in the county.

Brittany Cox, West Forsyth head basketball coach, says that Williams is such a good player because of her “work ethic and competitive drive.”  Cox thinks that Williams has the ability to play on the next level.

“She is probably her toughest critic, which I think drives her to always do her best,” Cox said.  “She is always in the gym trying to work on her game.  Even in practice when she makes a mistake she wants to get right back at it to make sure she gets it right.

“She is probably the best defender on our team by far and that is because of her competitiveness,” Cox said. “Amira likes to win in everything she does and she strives to do her best with every rep in practice and every game she plays.  She is just a great kid and very fun to coach.”

Amira also plays basketball for an Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) team.  Her team is the Winston-Salem Stealers and the head coach Trish Grant says that Amira is such a good kid and a pleasure to coach. 

“She has so much natural ability and she is just such a nice kid who is very easy to coach,” Grant says about Amira.  “I have had her for two years now and I see her playing Division I on the next level.  She is a great defender and has a quick first step, so if she continues to work on her shot and it becomes more consistent, I see her going wherever she wants.”

When it comes to track, Amira seems to be a jack of all trades.  She competes in a number of relays from the 4×100, 4×200 and 4×400.  Her best event is the high jump, where she currently stands as one of the best in the state.

When asked what she loves most about track and field she said, “I enjoy running and I enjoy jumping, so that was the major attraction for me.  My coach just asked me to try it and when my coach asked me to try it, I actually wound up being pretty good at it.”

Amira’s parents, Lamaya and Ira Williams, say she has been playing basketball since age 5.  They say they immediately could see her athletic talents and say they sky’s the limit for her.

“I think she could get a scholarship in both sports whenever she wants to make that decision to do one or the other,” Mr. Williams said.  “Her strength is definitely her competitiveness and when it comes to consistency she has to compete on both sides of the floor more consistently.  She tends to show her prowess on the defensive end but she has untapped talent on the offensive end as far as being more aggressive.”

Amira also excels in the classroom as well.  She has a 3.9 GPA and is an honor roll student.  She says her favorite subject in school is biology.  If given the choice of schools she would love to attend Duke University.

Amira’s mother says she thinks Amira does so well in the classroom because she is able to pick up concepts so easily regardless of subject matter.  Mrs. Williams says Amira works just as hard on her academics as she does on the athletic field. 

“She is very willing to learn along with being very coachable and teachable,” Mrs. Williams said.  “These are things that have contributed to her success thus far.”

Her father added, “She is also a bit of a perfectionist on the other side, which makes it hard for her to let go of some things because she wants to be perfect at everything.”

Amira says her coaches have helped her tremendously thus far in her high school career.  She says she knows the expectations for her are higher than others but that motivates her to do better.

“My coaches are hard on me but it’s in a good way,” she went on to say.  “They know what I am able to do and what I might be able to become in the future.  I do well under pressure and I give 100 percent in whatever I do.”

Outside of playing sports, Amira says she would love to have a career in political science or biomedical engineering.  She also thinks her West Forsyth team has a great chance to bring home the state championship this upcoming season.