BEST OF BOTH WORLDS
Lizaad Williams keeps a cool head and finds “ice in his veins” in both sport and academia By Fatima Ahmed | Photography: ASEM Engage/Varsity Sports, UWC Media
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he assumption is always one of handsome remuneration when it comes to the careers of professional athletes. However, a career can last only as long as the player can perform. And that is exactly what drove the newlycapped Proteas’ fast bowler and University of the Western Cape (UWC) alumnus Lizaad Williams
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– as a university graduate and now international cricketer. There have been many examples of long, illustrious careers but even more of shortlived ones. With sport, there really aren’t any certainties. What happens after the career of a pro athlete is over? Perhaps they’ve made enough to live comfortably
post-retirement? What if injury cuts their careers short before they’ve had the chance to carve a living for themselves? Lizzy, the nickname Lizaad is affectionately known by among teammates, has his head screwed on straight. He is adamant on building a legacy based on a good education, allowing for any eventuality by backing his cricketing skills with the tools that enable him to open other doors and begin a new innings in this Test match we call life. He says his mom, Lizette Williams, as a single parent, found that raising three boys in Vredenburg on the West Coast was challenging. She did a great job because during the interview, the somewhat shy Lizzy’s humility shines through, no doubt attributed to how he was brought up. During a virtual interview while on tour with the Proteas in Ireland on the morning after his dream One-Day International debut – taking a wicket off his first ball – I found a grateful soul with a first-hand understanding of what it means to make sacrifices. Lizzy says his experiences in high school taught him the importance of education, and made him challenge himself to strive to be better and to excel at the highest level possible in academia and, of course, life. Having a mother that ensured she drilled these values into him allowed Lizzy to follow this plan
