John Williams Family, 1988-2013, Swimming
The John Williams Family is the first induction of an entire family into the Brewer Athletic Hall of Fame most notably for their collective achievements/contributions to Brewer athletics particularly in the sport of swimming. John Williams Sr. ’88, his wife Eileen (McTigue) ’88, and their sons John II (’08), Brent (’10) and Josh (’13) participated in two or more sports at the varsity level and excelled at an elite level in at least one if not more than one sport. All five members of the Williams Family served as a Team Captain. The Williams’ Men were all selected as members of PVC All-Conference Teams and all were finalists at the Class A Swimming & Diving State Championships. The three sons were New England qualifiers in swimming and they each earned Brewer Swimming’s Outstanding Swimmer Award for two or more years each. Probably the most impressive statistic is that all five members of the Williams’ Family set Brewer school records in a varsity sport…Eileen held the javelin record in track and field and John Sr. and his three sons set records in swimming. In fact, John Sr., John II, Brent, and Josh all currently hold four of Brewer Swimming’s 12 School Records.
John Williams Sr. was an elite swimmer, lettered all 4 years and was Team Captain his senior year. He was the 1987 PVC Champion in the 100 yd. Freestyle and a member of the 400 yd. Freestyle Relay which set a PVC Championship meet record. His senior year, he was the Class A State Champion in the 500 yd. Freestyle and the silver medalist in the 100 yd. Freestyle. He was named three-times to the Maine All-State Swim Team and assisted his relay teams in setting two school records: 200 yd. Medley and 400 yd. Freestyle Relays. John Sr. was also a member of the soccer team for three years through his senior year.
John Sr.’s achievements as a swimmer pale in comparison to his contributions as a coach. There has been no Brewer graduate who has given back more to the sport of swimming than John Sr. Even after graduating and starting a family, he never veered too far from the pool serving as an assistant coach with the Barracuda Swim Team, Head Coach of the Hurricane Swim Club and swim meet official for both age-group and high school swim meets. John Sr. was a huge supporter of high school swimming, a rarity among age-group swim coaches. He encouraged all his athletes to swim high school and instilled a passion for swimming that carried from program to program. Many of the finest swimmers in Eastern Maine have John Sr. to thank for their development. John Sr. was a pillar of the Brewer Swimming & Diving coaching staff for 16 total seasons and his impact is immeasurable.
Eileen (McTigue) Williams was an outstanding four-year basketball player and served as the varsity point guard her sophomore through senior years as well as co-captain her junior and senior years. Eileen was one of the team’s high scorers and by her sophomore year, she was one of three players who paced the team offensively and served as the nucleus of the Witches’ team. She ranked in the 1987 Big East Conference Top 10 in scoring and assists and was elected to the Big East All Conference Team. Eileen contributed significantly to the Brewer Women’s Basketball Team’s runner-up finish in the 1988 Eastern Maine Championship…the only Brewer Women’s Basketball Team in school history to reach the championship game. Eileen was not only a talented ball-handler and scorer, she was also a gifted javelin thrower on the Outdoor Track Team. Eileen was PVC Champion, State bronze medalist and earned the Coaches Award in 1987. During her senior year, she set the javelin school record with a distance of 118’8” placing 1st at the Eastern Maine Regional Meet; as of 2022, she is still ranked #3 on Brewer’s Top 20 All-Time List. Eileen married her high school sweetheart, John Williams Sr. in 1989. While their sons were involved in a myriad of sports throughout their youth, swimming was always at the core. Spending countless hours on the pool deck watching her three boys, Eileen picked up some coaching skills along the way and in 2010, she joined the Brewer swim staff, where she remains as of 2022, working with the novice swimmers teaching them the fundamentals. Eileen also serves as a committee member and the Donation Coordinator of the Brewer Athletic Hall of Fame since 2017.
John Sr. and Eileen’s contributions to swimming have extended beyond their athletic achievements and coaching service. From installing and running the electronic timing system and computer to announcing Brewer’s home swim meets for over 15 years, no one can run a more efficient swim meet than the Williams’. In addition, in 2013 John Sr. and Eileen commissioned a beautiful new record board for the Brewer Swim Team which is prominently displayed at Brewer’s home practice facility at the Bangor Y.
The success of John Sr. and Eileen’s three son’s lies in two qualities shared with their parents: work ethic and competitive drive. The foundation of the boys’ success in the pool lies, at the core, with their work ethic from which they get from their father as there is no harder working individual than John Sr. The boys never took the easy way and relished being challenged in practice, rising up to completing the toughest of workouts at a high-quality level. The spark that fueled the boys’ work ethic was their competitive drive, a quality they clearly inherited from their mother! Eileen is one of the most competitive people in sport. Her fierce determination and commitment to excel was a driving force in every endeavor, from her days on the basketball court and javelin pit to the pool deck coaching swimming. Her boys desire to excel, to compete at the highest level, never wavered and was a driving force to their success.
John Williams II was an outstanding four-year swimmer, a two-time PVC bronze medalist, a four-year State Meet finalist, a two-time New England qualifier and named to the 2007 PVC All-Conference Swim Team. In 2007, he was instrumental in leading his relay teammates in twice breaking the 200 yd. Freestyle Relay school record. John II twice earned the Brewer Swim Team’s Outstanding Swimmer Award as well as the 2007 Coaches’ Award, the most prestigious of the Brewer Swimming and Diving honors. His leadership skills were second to none and evident the first day he stepped on the pool deck his freshman year. One of his most formidable achievements was his direct influence on the Brewer Men’s Swim Team growth in numbers. One of only six male swimmers his freshman year, John II made it his mission to build team comradery and recruit new athletes through hosting functions outside of practice. The men’s team size grew 25% his sophomore year, doubled his junior year and tripled by his senior year. A three-year member of the Outdoor Track Team, John II set a new school record in 2007 in one of the least popular events: the 1600m Racewalk; he still remains on the Top 20 All-Time list.
Brent Williams, a stellar four-year distance swimmer, specialized in the 200 and 500 yd. Freestyle. He was the 2009 PVC Championship silver medalist and 2010 bronze medalist in the 200 and 500 yd. Freestyle and twice named to the PVC All-Conference Swim Team. A consistent four-year Class A State Meet finalist, he was the 2009 bronze medalist in the 500 yd. Freestyle. Brent was a four-year New England qualifier and earned the 2010 bronze medal in the 500 yd. Freestyle. Brent twice helped set the 200 yd. Freestyle Relay school record. A great student of the sport, Brent was the first swimmer in Maine history to master and utilize in interscholastic competition the backstroke to breaststroke roll-over turn, a cutting edge turn that, at the time, most elite swimmers in Maine were hesitant to use in competition for fear of getting disqualified if not executed properly. As elite swimmers saw the advantage Brent had off his turns, they began to follow suit and within two years, the back-to-breast rollover turn was mainstream. Brent was twice named Brewer Men’s Outstanding Swimmer. He also played soccer for four years (last three years varsity) and tennis his junior and senior year (varsity).
Josh Williams, John Sr. and Eileen’s youngest, developed into one of the best swimmers in Brewer history. His high school swim coach Kathleen Cahill noted, “Josh had the strongest work ethic of any athlete I’ve ever coached in 30 years…he was an amazing athlete.” He was a two-time PVC Champion in the 100 yd. Backstroke and a two-time backstroke Class A State Championship bronze medalist. As a junior, Josh broke the 100 yd. Backstroke school record, the oldest Brewer Swimming record originally set in 1982 by 2018 Brewer Athletic Hall of Fame Inductee Mark Doughty. Josh’s 100 yd. backstroke swim at the 2013 PVC Championship was the highlight for all in attendance as he not only broke his Brewer school record, he set a new PVC meet record and a Husson pool record. He was twice named PVC All-Conference in addition to the 2013 Maine All-State Swim Team. He was a three-time recipient of the Brewer Men’s Outstanding Swimmer Award and received the Dennis B. Kiah Award in 2013. Josh was a varsity soccer player for three years; he earned the prestigious Coaches’ Awards in both swimming and soccer.
The John Williams Family is well known and well respected throughout the swimming community. Their contributions as athletes and/or coaches are still observed today. Whether they are inspiring swimmers with their own current school records or inspiring them through their wisdom on deck as coaches, their impact and legacy will remain for years to come. When not on the pool deck, the Williams Family own and operate Williams Family Farm where they harvest wild blueberries, produce maple syrup products as well as honey and sell their seasonal products from their Clifton-based “Sugar Shack”. John II lives in Clifton with his wife Sarah and is currently the Chief Risk Officer for Bar Harbor Bank and Trust. Brent also lives in Clifton with his wife Carmen and is a Project Executive with Sargent Corporation. Josh lives in Walnut Creek, California with his wife Megan and works as a Portfolio Management Senior Associate for Bank of America.
CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE INDUCTION AND ACCEPTANCE SPEECH OF THE JOHN WILLIAMS FAMILY
The John Williams Family with Presenter Kathleen Cahill
(L-R: Josh, Brent, Eileen, John II, John Sr.)