KEEPING IT IN THE FAMILY

I am Proud to be Connected to My Mother’s Legacy

Champions' TriBUne 11/4/2021 3:20:00 PM

Champions' TriBUne Archive

By: Callie Williams

Champions' TriBUne is a special feature through Baylor Athletics that gives you the student-athlete's perspective and the chance for them to share their own story. Callie Williams, a fifth-year senior setter, is the daughter of Baylor associate head coach Jason Williams and Baylor Hall of Famer Cory (Sivertson) Williams. After two seasons at Tennessee, Callie transferred to Baylor and had to sit out the 2019 season before starting 16 matches as a redshirt junior. A first-team Academic All-Big 12 pick last year, she graduated last December with a degree in corporate communications and is working on her MBA. Williams and the 10^th-ranked Bears (13-4, 7-1) will host No. 1 Texas (17-0, 8-0) at 8 p.m. Friday and 6 p.m. Saturday at the Ferrell Center:

My mom, Cory (Sivertson) Williams, was a rock star. Still is a rock star, if you ask me, but in college she was an amazing athlete. She was a four-year starter at Baylor and the first volleyball player ever inducted into the Baylor Athletics Hall of Fame. She was a setter, like me, but she was better than me. As a kid growing up, I always heard about how great she was and how I was going to be just like her, but that felt like a lot of pressure. She was really good. I never dreamed about going to Baylor and following in my mom's footsteps. I always imagined paving my own way and trying my best to eliminate opportunity for direct comparison because I mean, come on, she was better. My aunt, Sarah Sivertson, was also a setter at Baylor. She set the four years right after my mom. You could say that a family legacy was brewing.

Baylor was never my plan. I had spent my entire childhood in Dallas and, by the end of my sophomore year, I had crafted my plan. I was going to graduate from Bishop Lynch High School and go play volleyball at the University of Tennessee. I was so excited to get away and to experience a new place for college. Baylor was never REALLY on my radar. I knew my family would love for me to go, but I never really pursued visiting.

My junior year, Ryan McGuyre got the head coaching job at Baylor, and my dad started commuting to Waco to be the volunteer assistant coach. After that year, he was asked to join the staff as a full-time assistant. This was an incredible opportunity for my dad, but this meant uprooting our family and moving to Waco the summer before my senior year of high school. This move only spurred more jokes and comments from our family and friends: "Your mom and dad are both at Baylor, and you're going to Tennessee? Come on, do it for the family legacy!"

Back then, it was all fun and jokes, and no one really ever expected me to go to Baylor. Especially me.

Callie Williams

I graduated in 2017 and went on with my plan. I left for Tennessee and never looked back. I loved my new friends and my new state, but it was never quite a perfect fit. The volleyball was tough, and being away from my family was even tougher. I had always leaned on my family, and now I felt like they were just barely out of reach to feel true comfort. I really struggled throughout the fall semester of my freshman year, but then after the season we got news that there was going to be a coaching change. This meant a fresh start and new opportunities. My entire team was ecstatic at the possibility and opportunity that there was during that time.

Callie Williams

The excitement and hope faded fast. I was coming to understand that this was not where I was meant to be. I reached out to my dad and told him that I wanted to leave, and we started exploring other opportunities. After having such a tough time at Tennessee, I knew I wanted to be close to home. I did not want to risk another bad experience and still be far from my family. This meant Baylor seemed like the perfect solution. It was home.

Callie Williams

Since transferring to Baylor in the summer of 2019, I have come to realize that this was the place I was always meant to be. My mindset about comparison and not wanting to be like the rest of my family had changed. Carrying on a family legacy became something that I was proud to do. Even though I may never be as good as my mom, I was proud to be compared to her and proud to get to share this experience with her. I started to realize that I could have my own, completely independent experience and make my mark in my own way. I take pride in my academic accomplishments and investing in the student-athlete experience. I am making my mark by challenging myself academically and advocating for the student-athlete population.

Callie Williams

My mom's legacy and mine may be completely different, but I am proud to be connected to hers, and I'd like to think she is proud to be connected to mine.

Callie Williams