By Amber Barker
Tramon Williams, Sr., and Shan Moore-Williams boast a laundry list of athletic accolades, both including standout collegiate careers at Louisiana Tech, followed by professional tenures – Shan playing basketball in Poland for a year, and Tramon a notable 14-year career in the NFL, including winning a Super Bowl.
But there are two Olympians living under their roof now who are giving both Daddy and Mama Williams a run for their superstar success.
Tramon Williams, Jr., 11, and Trinity Williams, 10, just returned from the USATF National Junior Olympic Track & Field Championships in Sacramento where they both ran away with multiple medals to add to their already growing collection, one that’s been in the making since 2018.
Tramon Williams, Jr., better known as “T2” competed in the 12u division with a 4×400 meter relay team that finished in first place with a 3:47.88 time, narrowly missing breaking a 28-year record by .38. He was the anchor on his 4×100 meter team that claimed first place. And he jumped his way to a first place finish in the long jump.
Three medals in 2022 adding to the three in 2019 and two in 2021 (none in 2020 due to the pandemic). The 11-year-old medalist, who notes long jump is his favorite event, is humble and keeps it simple, “It feels good to medal; it makes me feel like I’ve done a good job,” adding he likes running with his friends.
And Trinity, known as “Trin” placed in the 10u division, first in the 100–meters, second in the 400–meters (shedding tears after not winning the race in which she finished a second and a half behind, albeit coming off the curve with only one shoe) and placing fourth in long jump.
Shan is quick to chime in, “Nothing goes as planned a lot of times; you just gotta find a way.”
And find a way they have. At the age of six, Trin qualified for the Junior Olympics but couldn’t compete, as the minimum age was seven. She has since taken home three medals in each JO she has participated. Every year since starting to compete in 2018 with the Dave Bethany Elite Track Club, the siblings have qualified for the Junior Olympics.
“I feel excited that I can work hard to get to a certain point to medal and do what I like to do,” Trin said. “It’s really fun to work hard and talk to your friends.”
Her favorite event is the 400 because “I’m really good at it, have the right technique and can hold my technique better than others.”
And while competing at a high level wasn’t necessarily the goal their parents pushed for, it’s one they are proud to witness.
“I get happier seeing my kids perform at a high level than I did for myself,” Shan said. “It’s a great feeling to see them do a lot of stuff that I didn’t do growing up. It’s not something I want for them, it’s something they want for themselves more than anything. To see the joy on their face – I can’t put it into words.”
That’s saying a lot coming from Shan, a respectable athlete herself, who played basketball at Tech, where she earned Western Athletic Conference Player of the Year honors and etched her name in the 1,000-point club.
Tramon Sr., who started off as a walk on at Tech, earned his way to a starting spot before concluding his collegiate career. He then went on to have a successful career in the NFL, spanning 14 years before retiring in 2021. Even with all his success and accolades, it’s the desire to see his kids excel that drives him now.
“It’s a joy to see them doing it because it’s something they really love to do. You always want your kids to be/do better than you, and I think we’ve seen a little bit of that in both of them,” the senior Williams said. “The compliments we get is that we are raising good kids. They are humbled and do what they are told to do. Sports teaches you so much [such as] how to be disciplined, so it’s a natural progression.”
Both mom and dad credit their kids with having strong mindsets to add to their athletic prowess.
“T2 loves football, but he’s also good at track and does it with a great mindset. He attacks it with a humble confidence, and even though he’s at the top he’s not looking to make anyone feel less than,” Williams, Sr. said. “And Trin loves track. When she was 6 years old, she came from gymnastics, stepped on the track, and started running with the 10-year-olds and the coaches wanted to know whose daughter she was. Trin is self-motivated and a straight leader; T2 is a lead by example type.”
Shan echoes the unique description of the siblings, adding Trin is more aggressive, and T2 the “silent assassin” who “won’t say much but is going to get the job done.”
She also notes the importance their entire family places on mentality and confidence.
“Trin loves tumbling too. She believes there’s nothing she shouldn’t be able to do,” Shan said. “Self-belief is everything. It’s great right now for them to battle adversity because it’s never a straight road. You have to train your mind. When you get older there will be adversity. I tell them you can be the best athlete in the world, but attitude and mentality separate individuals of similar or equal talent.”
The Williams siblings stay busy year-round, honing in not only on their mental and physical skill in track but spreading their time playing other sports as well: T2 in football, Trin in tumbling, and both coming off their first year of playing rec basketball. Their parents want them to be well-rounded – on and off the field or court, mentally, academically (T2 is continually on the Dean’s List and Trin on the A Honor Roll), and they are shaping up to be just that.
“We’re big on our faith so one of the things we teach them, and I always pray for them is to have a mental capacity that can’t be broken. I want them to know they are chosen and victorious regardless of the circumstances – win or lose a race that we are victorious. I think they understand that,” Williams, Sr. said. “We want them to develop their own relationship with Christ, and we want them to understand things aren’t going to always go their way, but as long as they put God first and have the right mindset things are going to work out for the good.”
