Posted With Permission Of Kamloops This Week By: Adam Williams in Sports [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="333"] Syd Williams vs Mount Royal (Andrew Snucins photo)[/caption] Sydney Williams is not your average freshman. For one, she’s started all but one game for the TRU WolfPack women’s basketball team — including a stretch of 15 in a row — and Williams is among the team’s top-five players in most statistical categories. The 18-year-old from Langley has led the team in defensive rebounds for most of the season — unusual, considering she is a 5-foot-8 guard. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="333"] Syd Williams (Andrew Snucins photo)[/caption] “It has been different,” Williams said of her transition to the Canadian Interuniveristy Sports ranks. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="333"] Williams with one hand vs UBC (Andrew Snucins photo)[/caption] Not only is she adjusting to playing the game against women rather than teenagers, but also the gruelling travel and the burden of her responsibility as a starter. “I’ve just been pretty lucky with what my coach has been giving me, in terms of opportunities for shooting and everything,” she said. “It’s all just a new thing for me, so I’m just taking it day by day, enjoying it and working hard.” [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="333"] Williams shoots vs UBC (Andrew Snucins photo)[/caption] Williams’s success this season might make her seem like a natural talent, but basketball didn’t always come easy. In her early days, the Brookswood secondary product said she was “athletic, but completely out of control,” lacking ball skills and shooting ability, relying solely on her athleticism. Williams continued to work on her game day after day in the gym with her high school coach. She has come a long way since those days, Williams said, and become a far different player than she was the first time she took the court in Grade 8. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="400"] Williams battles vs Trinity Western (Allen Douglas photo)[/caption] When Reeves approached her to be a part of the WolfPack, she felt a loyalty toward him, having known him since she was 13. Reeves stressed the importance of family throughout her recruitment process and Williams said that hit home. “The girls here, that’s for sure something that made me choose this place over other schools, because of how well everyone (gets along),” she said. “You spend so much time with everyone, so he really emphasized that this is your second family.” [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500"] WolfPack head coach Scott Reeves (Andrew Snucins photo)[/caption] Reeves’s history at Brookswood — before coming to TRU he coached the school to three consecutive provincial championships and a 124-2 record — was also a draw for Williams. Playing under the man who has built the WolfPack women’s basketball program from the ground up is motivational. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500"] Reeves calls out instructions (Andrew Snucins photo)[/caption] “You want to be coached by someone who is not only developing your skills and your team, but the program itself.” If Williams’s success this season has been a surprise to some, Reeves does not count himself among them. “I knew she was an incredible offensive talent,” Reeves said. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500"] Williams at free throw line (Allen Douglas/KTW photo)[/caption] "Her athleticism, defensively, I knew she could stay with some of the better players in our league. “She’s got a little bit to grow yet in the basketball IQ side of the game, but when you recruit someone with the athletic ability and the potential that Syd had — her numbers right now aren’t staggering to me.” [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="333"] Williams in action last weekend against Fraser Valley (Andrew Snucins photo)[/caption] With every season comes struggles, nights like Saturday (Jan. 18) when the ball just doesn’t drop. The WolfPack lost their second game in as many nights to the Fraser Valley Cascades, losing 75-67 at the Tournament Capital Centre. TRU is 7-7 on the campaign, good enough for fourth in the Canada West’s pacific conference. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="333"] Williams in her first formal shot with team at Uji Garden (Andrew Snucins photo)[/caption] Williams continues to develop the mental side of her game, trying not to be too hard on herself when the shots aren’t going her way. There is a long way to go but, with four more seasons under the mentorship of Reeves and his coaching staff, there’s a good chance she’ll get there. “With what we’ve accomplished, I believe in the program more now,” Williams said. “I believe that we can accomplish so much more.”