The Trenton Times published the following article on July 17, 2013. To read the full article, click here.
Trenton Central HS football team deals with death of teammate gunned down at Hamilton house party
By Joe Zedalis/Times of Trenton Staff
on July 17, 2013 at 11:24 AM, updated July 17, 2013 at 12:09 PMHOPEWELL — Shakir Williams, the 17-year-old fatally shot at a party in Hamilton Township last Friday night, played freshman football for Trenton in 2010, and as recently as a couple of weeks ago was practicing with the Tornadoes.
Last night, as 32 Trenton players participated in 7-on-7 scrimmages at Hopewell Valley High School with teams from Lawrence and Hightstown, team members closest to Williams expressed sadness and shock about his death.
Trenton head coach Tarig Holman, who has yet to coach a game, informed the players of the shooting Saturday morning.
“I cried,” said Trenton fullback-linebacker Trumane Nieves. “He lived down Highland Avenue and I lived on Hillcrest. We were friends since the fifth grade.
“I kept telling him we need you.”
Trenton High football head coach Tarig Holman says his players were excited to have Shakir Williams back on the team.
Williams, who wore No. 9 when he played as a ninth-grader, was a sleek, speedy wide receiver.
“A very good athlete,” Nieves said. “A D-I (Division I) kid … the whole package as a receiver. He caught anything he could reach.”
“What I remember is that he was the kid who taught me the game of football,” said Trenton senior Ryan Fuller.
“A great teammate who was always willing to help someone pick their head up,” Nieves added.
“He made amazing catches,” senior Jamel Kelly recalled. “I was heartbroken to hear he died.”
Two years removed from the game, Williams appeared ready to return.
“He told me he had some things to straighten out,” Holman said. “All the kids were excited when he showed up and there was immediate respect for his abilities as a player. He came a couple of times.” But also no-showed on occasion.
“He had some kind of injury that kept him out a couple days,” Holman said.
That couple days were just before he was killed last Friday night at a party so packed with teenagers at a Deutz Avenue home that some of the party guests were breaking windows to escape.
“He (Williams) was influenced by a couple of friends he was hanging with,” Fuller said. “He seemed to be more into his friends than football.”
“We didn’t know about all of his off-field activities,” Nieves said. “All we knew was he would show up sometimes and not others.
“If you don’t have the right influences, it’s easy to get caught away from sports. It could happen to anybody.”
“You try to teach kids life lessons,” Holman said. “But when something like that happens, there’s not much you can say.
“As a teenager, kids are in a crazy position because you can’t do that one thing that will make you successful for the rest of your life. But you can do the one thing that will end your life or make you unsuccessful.”
So Holman preaches as much as he coaches.
His coaching staff, which now includes two police officers and a fire fighter who played football at Trenton High, remind the players about the ramifications of wrong choices in a city overrun by violence.
“We talk all the time about not letting distractions turn you away from your destiny,” Holman said. “We talk about being a champion on a daily basis.”
The Trenton players do something football related six days a week.
“I keep them together as long as I can, hoping that when they go home they are too tired to do anything else,” Holman said.
The three senior football players said Williams will be remembered.
“I know I won’t get the chance to play with him, but I will dedicate my season to him,” Kelly said.
“But I think our town needs to step up and change the environment.”
Holman and the Trenton team will try to do that, one player at a time.
“It takes a great game like football, where 80 kids do the right thing each day,” Holman said.
“It’s small steps, but you can get the ball rolling and that could have a huge impact on a city like Trenton.”