Brookwood alum named to Sewanee Hall of Fame
THOMASVILLE – During the weekend of October 26th, Sewanee Athletics announced its 2018 Hall of Fame class honoring six former student-athletes. Among them was Brookwood School graduate and Thomasville native Sally Jackson Williams ’02, who was recognized for her outstanding achievements in basketball.
In her senior yearbook, Sally Williams – then Sally Jackson – wrote, “Basketball has been a great experience for the last four years. It has allowed me to build great friendships and give off some ‘excess energy.’” As her recent accomplishment indicates, that “excess energy” distinguished her at the college level as well.
But even today, when reflecting on her budding basketball career, Williams still focuses primarily on her enjoyment of the sport. She says, “I started playing basketball in the 3rd or 4th grade... In middle school, Coach Cindy Lyons made practice and games fun while teaching valuable fundamentals.”
However, it was not until high school that Williams “truly developed a love of the game.” She notes, “I had several wonderful coaches and trainers who really helped me realize my potential and understand how to use it on the basketball court.” In fact, in her senior year at Brookwood, her #14 jersey was retired to honor her achievement of having scored over 1000 points in her high school career.
Reflecting on her time at Brookwood, Williams describes the impact of essentially growing up there. She and her three siblings each attended Brookwood from pre-Kindergarten to twelfth grade. Accordingly, she explains, “The school holds a special place in my heart as well as [that of] my entire family.”
She notes, too, the crucial role her family has played in both her staying with the sport and her growing passion for it. She says, “They followed the Brookwood school van and helped drive part of the team to many away games, rarely missing a game. They continued this into my time at Sewanee and traveled near and far and were always there no matter how far the distance.” Of the 102 games Williams played in at Sewanee, she says, “I can count on one hand how many games they missed.”
Along with her family’s support, Williams recognizes how Brookwood equipped her for life beyond high school. She says, “The academic rigor at Brookwood definitely helped me out in my college career at Sewanee. [Both schools] are very similar [in that they both] understand that the student is there to focus on academics first and athletics second.”
Having graduated in a class of only twenty-six students, she adds, “I think the size of the school bothered me as a student, but in hindsight I realize that the relationships with your teachers and friends are so much closer due to the close-knit community of the school.” She notes that many of her strongest friendships today are those with her high school teammates, with whom she grew up playing basketball, going to sports camps, and traveling to games together.
Like many Brookwood graduates, Williams also cites her close relationships with teachers as a significant component of her educational experience. She says, “My teachers were instrumental in giving me the foundation of how to succeed in the classroom. Thankfully, many of those teachers are still at Brookwood today and have been able to train and teach so many more students over these past 15 years. Having a good relationship with your teachers and being able to easily speak to them for any help or advice is definitely something I carried on to Sewanee where the teacher/student relationship is also very close.”
In October, when Williams was inducted into the Sewanee Athletics Hall of Fame, many of her family members were there in the audience, including her parents, who were there proudly supporting her, the same way they always have.
For her senior quote back in 2002, Williams borrowed from author Nancy Coey: “When work, commitment, and pleasure all become one, and you reach that deep well where passion lives, nothing is impossible.”
Williams now lives in Atlanta, Georgia, with her husband and three sons.
Brookwood School
Located in Thomasville, GA, Brookwood School is a private school for grades JK-12. Students benefit from a challenging academic program, fine and performing arts, competitive athletics, and a wide selection of extracurricular activities.