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A Williams High School football helmet is covered in wax as part of the Bulldogs commitment ceremony. The helmet serves as a reminder of the commitment those in the program have made to the football team.
A gold Williams High School football helmet with a black W joins the Bulldogs players and coaches on the sideline each Friday night.
It’s not worn by any player and it’s covered in pink, red and white wax from melted candles.
While it may stick out to an outsider for its unusual appearance, it’s filled with meaning for those in the Bulldogs program.
A Williams High School football helmet is covered in wax as part of the Bulldogs commitment ceremony. The helmet serves as a reminder of the commitment those in the program have made to the football team.
Times-News
Courtesy of Williams High School
It’s all part of a tradition that has returned to Williams under first-year coach Patrick Stokes, with its roots dating back to the days when NCHSAA Hall of Fame coach Sam Story was at the helm of the Bulldogs program.
“Hundreds of players have gone through this,” Stokes said. “There's a helmet that we keep with us on the sideline. It stays in the coaches office, but it has the wax from all the previous ceremonies poured over. When we're done with the ceremony, all the wax gets poured over the helmet as a visual and a tangible reminder of the commitment of both ours as well as those before us.”
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The ceremony Stokes references is what the Bulldogs call a “commitment ceremony,” that is to take place before each season.
“It’s basically players just getting up in front of their teammates and coaches and just talking about why they play football at Williams,” Stokes said. “What Williams football means to them and what commitment means to them. They talked about family. They talked about a brotherhood. They talked about goals and a plan to achieve those goals. But mostly, it's just them sharing their hearts and what sports, particularly here at Williams, means to them.
“We sit in the stadium after a late-night practice and there's candles that are lighted there on the table. So, that's the light that we kind of look at each other in. When it's all said and done, the captains go last and they talk about what it means to them and then they blow the candles out and pour the wax over the helmet.”
That ceremony registered as an important bonding moment, according to Izayah Ramsey, the senior receiver / cornerback and a team captain.
“We had the ceremony. We came out there and we told each other how we felt about the game,” Ramsey said. “We told each other we love each other and we have each other's backs. We committed to the team. We're willing to do whatever it takes to win the game. We're willing to protect our brothers when we step on the field. It's a dogfight. We’re all going at it. We have each other’s backs. Since (Coach Stokes has) been here, we’re building a culture. It’s like a family, now. It’s all love.”
Story, the former longtime Bulldogs coach, said the tradition was started by Tony Perrou, when he served as a Williams assistant coach. The origin of the idea came from Perrou’s playing days at North Carolina State, Story said, where Perrou and his Wolfpack teammates would take part in a similar ceremony.
“It's been something kind of ceremonial, just to the privy of the players that have played there and the coaches,” Story said. “It was started by Coach Perrou. He was defensive coordinator when he came to Williams. It was something that he brought with him that North Carolina State did when he played there. It's very impressive and very kind of confidential commitment ceremony.”
The Bulldogs won a state championship in 1999 with Perrou as the defensive coordinator and Stokes as a receiver on the team. Perrou was later the Southern Alamance coach when he passed away in a car crash in 2006.
“Tony, I’m proud to call him my nephew by marriage,” said Story, whose wife is the sister of Perrou's mother. “He played for me in my second year coaching at Williams in 1984 when we won our first conference championship."
That helmet and the meaning behind it was on Williams junior linebacker Gray Loy's mind last Friday night when the Bulldogs fell behind to host Eden Morehead with less than 5 minutes remaining.
“We started off the season doing a commitment ceremony, showing that we're committed to the team,” Loy said. “That's part of what we showed (in the Eden Morehead game).”
“We had that that blown coverage, where they got that long pass and they ran for a touchdown,” Loy continued. “But the way we came back from that, and I looked behind me, and every single one of my teammates were running down behind me to come get that guy. That's what you need as a defense. Everybody swarmed to the ball, everybody's committed, the way that the team’s changed and the way that we're all focused on one thing, and that's getting this next win.”
David Kehrli is a sports reporter at the Burlington Times-News and USA Today Network. You can reach him at david.kehrli@thetimesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @DavidKehrliTN. Subscribe to the Burlington Times-News here.
