FRUITPORT – For some people, winning isn’t everything.

That’s even true for some very talented young athletes, like Fruitport’s DayDay Williams.

Williams is really good at football and basketball, the type of standout that any high school of any size would love to have.

Over the past few years, Williams said he had two other schools interested in having him transfer, including one specifically for basketball.

But Williams remained at Fruitport, despite experiencing a lot of losing in both sports.

“I had no problem with staying at all,” Williams said. “I have built a lot of relationships with people at this school. It’s fun and there are a lot of good people to be around, a lot of good coaches, too.

“You get to build a brotherhood with everybody. That’s the best thing about sports, having fun with the people you like. Even if you don’t win, you’re still out having fun with the guys.”

That doesn’t mean Williams didn’t want to win – he certainly did – and after several frustrating years he finally learned what it feels like to be a champion.

It happened last winter, when the Fruitport boys basketball team followed a tough 7-18 season in 2023-24, Williams’ sophomore season, with a 17-6 mark and an O-K Silver conference championship.

Williams had never been on a championship team at Fruitport, in high school or middle school, at least as a key player, and he said the feeling was incredible.

“It was great,” he said. “It was so much fun. Everybody was just pushing themselves so hard, and it was a great atmosphere to be around. It felt really good, just to know that all the hard work really does pay off.”

Now Williams is hoping that his Fruitport football team will follow suit and have a big season, starting on Thursday night when the Trojans host rival Spring Lake in the season opener.

He has good reason to believe that the team could be successful. The Trojans return quite a few talented and experienced players, and there seems to be a new confidence among everyone in the program, following two tough seasons in a row.

“It’s my last year, and it’s been a long run,” Williams said. “I am ready to give both sports my all and see what this year has in store for us. I just want to keep going forward. I think that in football we can get there, too.”

Individual success, team struggles

Williams actually had a brief taste of winning in the Fruitport football program, back in 2022, his freshman year.

He was called up to varsity midway through the season and joined a great Trojan team that posted an 8-3 record, won a share of the O-K Blue conference title, and advanced to the second round of the state playoffs.

Williams did not play a great deal on that team, but he loved what he saw, and assumed there was more of the same coming up in the following seasons.

“I was there when they were doing good, and it felt like a good atmosphere to be in,” he said. “Everyone was doing their job and doing good. Then the next year, I don’t know what happened.”

Williams became a standout in his sophomore year of football, using his speed and agility to make a lot of great plays as a wide receiver, slot receiver, defensive back and kick returner

In a game against Holland Christian, he led the team with nine catches for 74 yards, and added an interception on defense. Against Hudsonville Unity Christian he led the team with eight tackles and a had a fumble recovery.

Despite Williams’ efforts, the Trojans stumbled to an 0-9 record, with a few blowout losses along the way.

Williams admits that he gave some thought to giving up football after that, but decided to see it through.

“I was thinking about, what if I just did basketball year-round?” he said. “I really thought about it, but I knew I would miss football too much. I knew I would go to a game and be mad that I wasn’t out there. I had been playing my whole life, I only had two more years, so I figured I might as well finish.”

Williams said Fruitport head coach Nate Smith played a big role in keeping him in the program, just by being himself.

“He’s always been able to just rekindle my love for the game,” he said about Smith. “He pushes you, motivates you and just makes the game more fun. He’s also someone you can always talk to.”

Turning the page

Last year, as a junior, Williams was even better, particularly in receiving, catching 17 passes for 650 yards and five touchdowns.

He had some real highlight moments, including a 57-yard TD catch against Comstock Park, a 49-yard scoring catch against Muskegon Catholic, a 63-yarder against Belding, and a 43-yarder against Kelloggsville.

Still the Trojans struggled to a 3-6 record, despite moving from the brutally tough O-K Blue conference to the much more manageable O-K Silver.

Williams said all of his big plays were fun, but they didn’t mean much when they came in games that ended in defeat.

“Obviously I am going to think about those plays, but at the end of the day they didn’t matter, because we didn’t win,” he said. “I never want to let my head get too big. Maybe I made some good plays, but I probably made some bad ones, too.”

Williams isn’t exactly sure why the Trojans struggled again last season, except that the commitment to doing the necessary work was not always shared by everyone.

“Everybody should go hard 100 percent of the time,” he said. “I know we had a lot of guys who really wanted it, but it sucks that there were a few people who didn’t try their hardest all the time.”

Williams isn’t worried about any of that now, because a new season has arrived – his final season – and there seems to be a lot of optimism surrounding the Trojans.

They have a lot of returning talent on offense besides Williams, including quarterback Brady Hanson,  running backs Liam Campbell and Kalan Teeter and wide receiver Blair Zimmer, as well as defensive standouts like Teeter, Ethan Fett, Carsen Crow and others.

Most importantly, the general commitment to excellence seems to be stronger this year, among pretty much everyone on the team, according to Williams.

“We all know that we’re all working hard for it,” he said. “Last year we had leaders, but this year I feel like there are more leaders who really want it, more people who are pushing other people, and that’s what we need.”

Coach Smith said Williams is one of those guys working extra hard to help the team win more in 2025.

“The influence he has on the team is great,” Smith said. “He has always been a competitor, but the edge he has brought this year seems to be different. He has risen to a different level of competitiveness, and he’s pouring that into the younger guys.

“He has all the ability in the world, and everything is lining up for him to have a great season.”