In the 10th and 12th grade dean’s suite hangs a photo of four Brookline High School student fans at a Powderpuff game, each with a different digit in “2005” painted in blue on his chest. If you have seen the fourth student in this photo—the one wearing the “5”—then you have seen a glimpse of new assistant athletic director Kyle Williams’s spirit.

Neither Brookline nor its athletic programs are new to Williams. After graduating from Lawrence School, and later from Brookline High School in 2005 where he played soccer and baseball, Williams attended Boston University. While at BU, he coached baseball at the high school, and after graduating, took a position as paraprofessional at Lawrence. From there, he was hired as a physical education and health teacher at Baker, where he worked until this year.

According to history teacher Michael Normant, the Superfans Organizing Committee adviser, Williams has already involved himself in many projects during his first weeks.

“Coach Campagna was really a mentor to him in the role that he’s in now,” Normant said. “He has taken everything that he learned from Coach Campagna, and seemingly that transition has gone really well. But he’s also added some vibrancy into the athletic community.”

Williams’ main objective as assistant athletic director is to increase the sense of community and spirit surrounding Brookline athletics. One way Williams plans to accomplish this goal is by increasing the programs’ online presence, both through the athletics website and through social media.

“I work to try to make our website a little more accessible,” Williams said. “And we’ve increased what we do with Twitter. We definitely still focus on game updates and promoting all the sports and especially our sub-varsity sports through Twitter, but we’re also trying to build a sense of Brookline community and pride.”

The athletics department also has a new Instagram account.

“We’re just trying to capture some of those moments of positivity in the different sports and get people to relate to them and want to experience it themselves,” Williams said.

Williams said he also wants to help increase school spirit by collaborating with students, teachers, and administrators.

“Another way that I want to accomplish that community goal is to work together with Mr. Normant and the Superfans and with the deans, some of whom I had as teachers prior to them being deans,” Williams said. “So that’s a fun relationship I have with them now, getting to work closely with them to really promote that sense of community.”

Williams draws upon his own past experiences as a BHS athlete to try to strengthen school spirit today. Specifically, he remembers going as a fan to away basketball games at Newton North.

“There was one in particular where we got a group of us — of about 10 to 15 — and we got white tank tops and we spray painted the letters that spelled out ‘Road Warriors’ on them, and we stood all coordinated in the bleachers,” Williams said. “That type of experience where you’re doing something with a group and you’re being creative and travelling together and representing your school was definitely something that was enjoyable, and something I want to facilitate here at the high school.”

Williams also remembers one baseball team he was part of at BHS that to him, embodied a major benefit of high school sports–lasting friendships.

“We made it to the South sectional semi-finals and we had a great record that year,” Williams said. “Everyone from that team has stayed in touch and is relatively close. That’s one of the coolest things about high school sports–the bonds you create with your friends, and how they last past high school.”

Both on and off the field, Williams acts as a mentor as well as a coach.

Senior baseball team member Jack Levine said Williams has an ability to take sports and people’s personal lives, and connect them.

“If you give him your time, he will give you his time,” Levine said. “If you say, ‘Can I come to practice early to take ground balls?’, he’ll be there and he’ll put in full effort to have you get better.”

Senior Tyler Patterson attests to this aspect of Williams’ coaching.

“Kyle and I have had conversations that have helped me sort things out,” Patterson said. “Whether it be academically or athletically, just to get my thoughts straight about things.”

According to senior Cooper Lev, a member of Campagna’s, the former assistant athletic director, and Williams’ baseball team, Williams’ coaching style is inspirational.

“He’s pretty quiet,” Lev said. “But he picks his moments to be intense. He’s obviously closer in age to us. He understands how we play the game.”

Williams has been influenced and inspired by many of his past coaches at BHS.

“Mr. Katz and Mr. Campagna were big driving forces in me wanting to become a coach,” Williams said. “If I had had negative experiences with them, I wouldn’t have wanted to go coach with them and work for them.”

Williams said he values language as a key way to achieve this communication with athletes.

“Two people could have the same idea,” Williams said. “But how they convey that to their player is going to be very important in whether the player embraces it and adopts it for themselves and really owns it, versus feeling like the coach is telling them exactly what to do.”

For Williams, this language often takes the form of rallying phrases. One such motto developed when he was coaching the baseball team at BHS several years ago. The saying was: “We keep our home clean.”

“The concept was that we were trying to be proud of who we were and what we represented.” Williams said. “We reinforced that.”

Williams said he had his infielders pick up rocks off the dirt because it directly affected how they played. They emphasized cleaning both their bench area as well as their opposing bench.

“When we left Warren field, it was going to look better than when we got there, because we were proud of our environment,” Williams said. “We were proud of who we were, and we wanted to represent the school and ourselves in a positive way, and really make people want to be a part of who we were, make people want to be Brookline Warriors.”

Williams’ coaching is not limited to his players, however. BHS athletics trainer Alex Jzyk, a close friend of Williams, recalls one time when Williams signed him up for a half marathon. According to Jzyk, Williams became his mentor in his goal to get in shape.

“Kyle, for the entire summer, helped me with my training, and got me in shape,” Jzyk said. “During the half marathon that we ran together, he ran with me. He was really helpful mentally, and he was the person on my side, coaching me and supporting me through all my endeavors. He’s always been the most respectful and best person in my life.”

Normant said Williams’ qualities as a coach will undoubtedly carry over to his work as assistant athletic director.

“He takes the mental aspects of the game very seriously,” Normant said. “But he also brings that into his job. In his work, both as a teacher, and now in his role as an AD and as a coach, he is very serious about being prepared, being organized, and having those be the things that allow him to be successful, and have others be successful.”

According to Williams, the best part of his new position is being able to interact with students and athletes regularly.

“I feel like I can be a resource for them throughout the day,” Williams said. “If they’re having a tough time in school, academically or socially, or if they want advice from their coaches, our doors are open here and we can definitely help them with that, and that’s exciting.”

Sarah Cardwell-Smith can be contacted at [email protected]