After 28 years of coaching, softball assistant coach, Ken Williams retires.
BY: ASHLEY BIUNDO
Editor-In-Chief
Back in 1993, Ken Williams began his career as a coach for the STLCC-Forest Park softball team, when sports were separated at each campus. He went on to coach for 28 years and is retiring after the 2021 softball season at STLCC.
Head coach Kristi Swiderski said, “Ken has been a staple of STLCC for a very long time.”
Williams said that he has a lot of memories from coaching alongside Billy Gifford. “One good memory I have is with Billy Gifford. He was with me at Forest Park and he died a couple years ago. But we always had good times,” he said.
Another favorite memory would be when the Forest Park softball team went to nationals in 2003. Williams said that he has history coaching assistant athletic director Sharon Marquardt’s family. Her sister pitched for Williams in 2003, helping them head to nationals and the last time they went to nationals Marquardt’s daughter led the team there according to Williams.
“Sharon has been a big part of the program for years” he said. “I think she started in 2004. She started working with me as an assistant and then stayed with me until we went to districts in 2011- 2012.”
Marquarqt said that she’s known Williams since she was 14 years old. “Ken has always treated the players as if they were family. He took care of them on and off the field,” she said. “He just loves the game of softball no matter what. He will be greatly missed.” Marquardt also said that Williams brought her to STLCC- Forest Park back in 2004 as assistant coach to softball.
Williams plans on visiting Florida for a month with his wife and dog after he retires.
“I’m 73 years old. I plan on going to Florida for a month in November, me, my wife and dog. We’re going to go down there and spend a month there,” he said. “I had a place down there for five years. And then I sold it. So we’re basically going back to where we stayed for five years. And just bum around about it to do little yard work.”
Williams will be still involved with the softball program, although not for coaching. “I’m still going to come to some of the games. If it’s a home game, I probably come up and watch them you know, be supportive” he said. “And if it’s an away game and it’s close, I’ll probably go to. I’m still going to stay involved but not coaching.”
Although his favorite memory is going to nationals back in 2003, it is also his biggest accomplishment.
“My biggest accomplishment is going to nationals in 2003 and I think Forest Park, we won regionals probably 5 or 6 times while I was there. So that was a good accomplishment,” he said.
Williams hopes that the team can win at regionals this year and would like to go to nationals in his last year as assistant coach. “We have regionals coming up on May 7 and 8, I believe. And hopefully we can win that. And then we go there if we win and we go to districts and if we win then we go to nationals,” he said. “So I would like to go to Nationals my last year, but who knows it just you have to be lucky. You got to be lucky on that weekend. It’s not all about what you did during the year, but you get a hot pitcher on a weekend and it only takes one pitcher and you can ruin the whole thing. So hopefully we can do that.”
Williams said that he enjoyed this year and he will miss his players.”it’s just been a good year. I really enjoyed it. I’m just getting older. My physical abilities, not what it used to be,”he said. “So that’s, that’s another reason I’m retiring. I’m just getting too old. I can’t do what I used to do. I think that’s the biggest reason.”
