STARKVILLE — After leaving Meridian in November, Jacey Williams didn’t know what was in her future.
The Starkville Academy girls soccer player tried out for the Meridian Community College team, but she tore the anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee and was left thinking her playing days were over.
But she kept hearing from MCC coach Mike Smith during her rehabilitation process, which gave her hope she would get a chance to keep playing.
A text message from Smith was the final step to making her dream a reality.
On Monday morning, Williams made it official when she signed a National Letter of Intent with MCC in front of friends, family, and classmates at Starkville Academy.
“It was really exciting,” Williams said. “When I read the message, my jaw just dropped and I was like, ‘I’m actually getting to do this.’ I ran outside and told my mom and my mom was really excited. My dad was really, really thankful for it all. When that happened I was like, ‘OK, this is real. I’m really going to play next year.’ I was really excited to further my opportunities.”
The injury occurred in Williams’ plant leg, which takes the most impact. Williams read up on ACL injuries and knew her rehabilitation was going to take nine to 12 weeks, but she began to heal a lot faster. She is finished with physical therapy and is doing personal training. She isn’t 100 percent, but she feels like she is 85-90 percent.
Pain and injuries have been a part of Williams’ life for a while. The forward tore her quad in the ninth grade and it has bothered her ever since, but she fought through the pain.
“During the game, it seems to not even register that it’s happening,” Williams said. “That’s when I knew my love for soccer was really there. During the game, nothing else matters except really trying to better the team.”
Former Starkville Academy coach James Hawkins never saw injuries or scrapes and bruises deflate Williams’ spirit the last few seasons and that it was hard to hold her back. With that attitude, Hawkins began to see a leader emerge.
“She’s a driving force behind the team,” Hawkins said. “Every game was something she wanted to do. She was passionate about the game. She worked relentlessly throughout the game. One of our hardest workers by far. She propelled us with the energy she had throughout the game.”
Williams realized as a senior she wanted to play soccer for at least two more years. She said it was evident in her final game, a playoff loss to St. Aloysius. That’s when she began to check on junior colleges in the state of Mississippi and liked what she saw from Smith and MCC.
Williams said she always wanted to play at the next level, but the dream was reinforced as her senior season wore on.
“When you hit senior year, everything starts to come as reality,” Williams said. “During my freshman, sophomore, and junior years playing on the varsity team, I always felt like I was younger.”
Hawkins knew Williams had the drive, talent, and athleticism to play at the community college level. He feels MCC is a good fit because Williams will develop in the next two years.
Williams will have to work even harder to play at a four-year school, but Hawkins believes she has the ability to do that if she pleases.
“Her athletic ability will help her with other aspects of the game, but her hard work will allow her to train and learn skills that will give her that extra potential that somebody looking for a player coming out of that level with two years experience,” Hawkins said. “That will be a bigger tool for her.”
Williams’ work ethic helped her come back faster than anticipated. After she tore her ACL, though, she doubted whether she would be able to keep playing. She said she didn’t focus on that realized she might get a scholarship offer as she as she worked through her rehabilitation. When she received the text message from Smith, she knew her life had been changed.
“It was really exciting, and I knew that’s what I really wanted to do,” Williams said. “I didn’t want to give it up. Senior season made me really realize that’s what I wanted to do.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Ben Wait on Twitter @bcwait
Ben Wait reports on Mississippi State University sports for The Dispatch.
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