Luke Williams is an ADVNC San Francisco ‘22 midfielder who is committed to play at Villanova University.
Luke comes from a West Coast lacrosse family. His dad, Jeff, grew up in Southern California and played for traditional powerhouse Torrey Pines in High School. He also played in college at Chico State and coached both his sons, Luke and his older brother, Trevor, who is on the men’s lacrosse team at Santa Clara University, throughout their days in rec league ball with the Coyotes. Jeff also coached High School lacrosse and coached at Stanford University.
“Coaching my two boys was the greatest experience of my life,” said Jeff Williams. “I was very demanding of Trevor and Luke, maybe too demanding. I always wanted more, and it was tricky figuring out how to push them without creating conflict. But it’s been incredible, the great bond we’ve created.”
“It was awesome,” said Luke. “My dad coached me the entire time while I was growing up. He led me through the entire journey and taught me everything I know.”
“Jeff has so much passion for the sport and you combine that with his love for our boys, it ended up translating on the field,” said Robin Williams, Jeff’s wife and Trevor and Luke’s mom. “He always had high expectations for the boys because they were usually two of his top players. I’ve loved every second of this journey. I don’t miss a game.”
Luke Williams has been playing lacrosse since he was a toddler.
Thanks to his dad’s upbringing and passion for the game, Luke started playing lacrosse at a very young age. “I feel like I’ve had a stick in my hands since I was born,” Luke said. “My parents have a pic of me as a toddler holding the smallest stick. Then I started playing on my first team when I was seven.”
Luke and Trevor Williams at ADVNC Tahoe Camp.
Growing up, Luke was usually playing in an age group older than him. Both Williams boys started playing with ADVNC when Chris Rotelli founded the club in 2012. Luke started playing for ADVNC when he was 10 years old, and played “up” two years with the 2020 team at the time. “Without ADVNC, I wouldn’t be seen the same,” said Luke. “It started when we went to the World Series of Youth Lacrosse. Then I started playing for the NDP. Chris Rotelli and ADVNC set me and my teammates up for success. He’s created such a strong program. The West Coast had never been honored like this before ADVNC. He has a strong connection with all the DI coaches. I feel lucky that we have had a strong relationship my entire time.”
“ADVNC is also all about the friendships I’ve made with my teammates,” Luke said. “Lacrosse aside, I’m personally close with just about every kid I’ve played with on ADVNC. I know these guys will be lifelong friends.”
For Luke, the college recruiting process started in the Summer of 2020. That was the Summer before his Junior year in High School. It was also the Summer of the Pandemic. With no coaches on the sideline, Luke knew they would be watching film and live streaming games. He knew this was his time to shine. His first tourney was the Juniors Open at the beginning of June. But the week prior, he broke his hand. “The doctor said it was risky to play with the broken hand,” Luke said. “He said I could shatter it worse, but I really wanted to play because I knew all the college coaches would be watching. Then I fractured it worse the first game of the Juniors Open, but I kept playing anyway. I played awesome with several highlights. It was super fun.”
Luke (left) and Max Sloat (right) have been friends and ADVNC teammates for many years.
Luke continued to play through that broken hand at Crabfeast and Naptown with ADVNC where they made the finals that year. His great play continued. “He really had to fight through adversity,” said Jeff Williams. “It was an amazing, but also nerve-wracking moment as a dad, knowing he was hurt. But watching him rise above the adversity and truly break out as an exceptional player was incredible to witness.”
Luke caught the attention of the traditional East Coast powerhouse club, the Annapolis Hawks. He played for the Hawks head coach Tom Ripley at the Juniors Open and the Hawks needed a midfielder and added him to their roster. That led to an opportunity to play in the prestigious Elite Eight Tournament. Playing for the Hawks in the “Midnight Mania” game, Luke was surrounded by players who were among the most sought after DI recruits in the ‘22 class. The game ended right before midnight on the East Coast, which is the time college coaches can start officially contacting rising juniors in high school.
Luke Williams played the 2020 Crabfeast with a broken hand.
“It was so late and I was tired,” said Luke. “All the other players on my Hawks team started getting calls and texts at midnight. My dad and I were watching this happen and the whole thing was very surreal. I honestly didn’t know if I was going to get a single DI coach to contact me.”
“We really didn’t know what was gonna happen,” said Jeff Williams. “He just had another phenomenal tournament, but we were wondering to each other, are we going to get zero calls or texts? All the other players on his Hawks team had their phones just blowing up right at midnight. But by the time we got back to our hotel, Luke’s phone started getting a whole bunch of calls and texts from DI coaches. It was like, WOW. The names of the schools that were all of a sudden reaching out, we were in total awe thinking… ‘this is gonna happen.’ It was one of the most proud moments I’ve had in my life.”
“It was all very new,” said Luke. “Then, as things progressed, not being able to talk to coaches in person because of COVID made it a little challenging. Everything was on Zoom. Villanova was one of my top schools that reached out to me, so I started talking to their coaches and really liked them from the beginning. Combined with Villanova being an incredible academic school, I loved how the coaches talked about their lacrosse program having a really good academic, athletic and social balance.”
Luke is a key member of the St. Ignatius team.
“The whole experience during the pandemic made the recruiting process so different for us,” said Robin Williams. “There was very little in person contact Luke could have with any coaches. So that made choosing a college kind of a hard decision to make. It even made walking on campus weird. But when Jeff and Luke visited Villanova, they fell in love with it. Then we went back for a second visit, and Luke’s former St Ignatius teammate, Sam Parkinson, toured us around. I watched Luke walk around the campus and there was something that just felt really good.”
“When I toured with Sam it felt like the perfect fit,” Luke said. “I could see myself playing and being a student there.”
Luke committed to Villanova University, and will start playing there in the Fall of 2022.
Having achieved his dream, Luke has advice for younger players who aspire to get where he is now. “It’s about consistency,” said Luke. “There was never a time I wasn't playing lacrosse. When I wasn’t on the field I was playing catch with my dad or shooting, just finding a way to get better all the time. You choose whether to sit on the couch or get out there and do everything in your power to get better.”