Where are they now: NIACC's Kristi Williams

By KIRK HARDCASTLE

NIACC sports information director

When Kristi Williams arrived on the NIACC campus in the fall of 1995, she didn't know a single person.

While in high school in North Kansas City, Mo., Williams had never heard of NIACC. Williams' sister-in-law (Petra McGee-Williams) told her about a two-year community college in Iowa as she was originally from Mason City.

Williams wanted to play softball and was not getting any looks so she was intrigued.

"Petra got me in touch with a friend of hers who was working at NIACC at the time," Williams said, "and she got me in touch with Coach (Tom) Dunn."

Williams chose NIACC, joined the softball team as a walk-on and turned into a two-time all-region performer in 1996 and 1997.

Williams, who is now an English teacher and softball coach at Blue Springs South High School in Blue Springs, Mo., said those early days on the NIACC campus taught her lessons that she still uses today.

"I didn't know anyone under the age of 60 in the entire town," Williams recalled, "so I had to learn to come out of my shell and take risks to make friends, to make connections, to be a part of a team.

"NIACC taught me all of that. Sure, I learned a thing or two in the classroom, but that is the biggest lesson I carry with me - just that bet on yourself, take-a-risk attitude that I had to develop. That helps me every single day."

Williams was a first-team all-NJCAA Region XI performer as a designated hitter as a freshman in 1996 and a second-team all-region DH as a sophomore in 1997.

Williams is tied for fifth on the school's career home run list with 13. She collected 91 hits in her two seasons and had a career batting average of .383.

The Lady Trojans were 28-19 in 1996 and 23-25 in 1997.

"Kristi was a great player," Dunn said. "You will find Kristi's name on the leaderboard in many categories.

"It is more impressive when you think that may of our girls only played one game of a doubleheader. We had enough good players that we would start two different lineups for the first half of the season or more."

Williams, who is 43, said Dunn taught her several things in the two years that she played for him.

"I learned not to take things so seriously," she said, "so now I am able to make fun of myself and/or put a lot of things into perspective.

"I also use the softball stats skills (Dunn) taught me while I was a DH in the dugout and riding shot-gun on those road trips a lot. I learned more from Coach Dunn than I think he will ever realize and I use most of those lessons daily in my classroom and with my team."

Williams took on lesson, in particular, from her former coach stands out more than 20 years later.

"Especially, the family atmosphere and the idea that this game is supposed to be fun," Williams said. "I remember laughing so much with my team at NIACC.

"I want my high school girls to have that kind of experience."

Along with the lessons that were learned in the classroom, on road trips and on the softball field, Williams also took several memories with her during her two years at NIACC.

She was the sports editor of LOGOS, the college newspaper, during her sophomore year. She also worked part-time in the Globe Gazette sports department while at NIACC.

The brutal North Iowa winters also left a lasting impression with Williams.

"Getting stuck in the dorms during snow storms and blizzards was always fun," Williams said. "We would go out and play in the snow.

"Also, we might have tried jumping out of the second and third story windows into the snow drifts between the wings a few times."

And one not so pleasant memory stands out to Williams, as well.

"Forgetting my shoes once and sitting the bench for an entire doubleheader," she recalled, "but I try not to dwell."

NOW, WILLIAMS IS ABOUT TO BEGIN her ninth season as head coach of the Blue Springs South High School softball team.

And her squad is seeking its third straight Missouri Class 4 state championship in the fall. The state of Missouri has a fall and spring season and schools declare which season they want to compete.

Williams' Jaguars topped conference foe Raymore-Peculiar 10-0 in five innings in the 2019 state title game last November.

Blue Springs South blanked Troy Buchanan 2-0 to claim the 2018 state title.

"Amazing," Williams was quoted as saying in the Kansas City Star after the 2018 state title. "You just don't even know how to explain it.

"I'm very proud of my girls because they were not expected to do this at all."

Blue Springs South placed second at the state tournament in 2016 and 2017 before finally claiming the title in 2018.

Williams, who has a career record of 161-69 in eight seasons, was Missouri's NFHS softball coach of the year in 2019.

"She was a student of the game, which shows with what she has accomplished as a coach," Dunn said. "Kristi was a great teammate and tried to always help her teammates get better. I believe that she has carried this over into her coaching. She is a very positive coach and role model."

Williams, who graduated from Northwest Missouri State, says she tries to incorporate a lot of the things she learned while wearing the blue and gold for NIACC in the 1990s.

"My players are amazing athletes, students and people," she said. "We do lots of community service together as a group, hang out, talk, socialize, Snapchat, TikTok – whatever we can do to make each other laugh and that was before all of this quarantine craziness.

"Jaguar softball is a family and we love to keep it that way. Getting to stay in contact and see where kids end up after high school and college is fun, as well. Just seeing them grow so much as people is my favorite part."

Williams and her husband Jason have three children – Dylan (18), Mia (14) and Jaxon (6), and live in Overland Park, Kan.

Dylan is a full-time student at Johnson County CC. Mia is an eighth-grader and Jaxon is in kindergarten.

Kristi and Jason have been married for 19 years.

"Yes, my maiden name is Williams," Kristi said. "Jason's last name is Williams so I am still a Williams.

"But he will tell you that I took his last name as opposed to me keeping my family's version."