Shawn Williams enters his fourth year as an assistant track and field coach at Illinois State University, specializing in throws.

In his three years with the Redbirds, Williams has coached eight NCAA West Preliminary First Round qualifiers, two USATF Junior qualifiers, and a two-time All-American in Jianna Williams. He has guided his athletes to two MVC Conference Championships and assisted in 10 All-MVC performances.

During the 2017 season, Williams coached freshman Sydney Laufenberg and sophomore Brandy Thomas to outdoor MVC titles.

Laufenberg claimed gold in discus, throwing a personal-best 51.70m (169-07.00) at MVC Championships. Not only was this mark the fifth-farthest in ISU history, but it qualified her for the NCAA Division I West Preliminary First Round and USATF Junior Championships.

Thomas capitalized in shot put, placing first with a personal-record throw of 15.68m (51-05.50). This distance ranks fourth on the Illinois State Top-10 List and qualified her for the NCAA Division I West Preliminary Round as well.

In addition, Williams led senior Morgan Keller to a second place finish in shot put at both the indoor and outdoor MVC Championships. Keller added a third place finish in discus to her repertoire at the MVC Outdoor Championships, garnering All-Valley honors for the fourth time in her career. She also qualified for the NCAA West Preliminary Round in shot put and discus, making her the third female Redbird thrower to do so in 2017.

In his first year with the Redbirds, Williams guided senior Jianna Williams to earning First-Team All-American accolades in hammer throw and Second-Team All-American status in shot put. He coached three NCAA West Preliminary Round qualifiers and four All-MVC honorees, including Williams, who was the MVC runner-up in hammer throw.

Before ISU, Williams spent three years as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Troy. As an assistant, he oversaw training and weight lifting sessions, assisted in all field events, and directed the recruiting efforts.

While at Troy, Williams guided Martins Pildavs (javelin) and Nicolo Bolla (hammer throw) to Second-Team All-American honors at the NCAA Championships in 2012 and 2013, respectively. He coached 11 NCAA regional qualifiers, eight Sun Belt All-Conference members, and aided Bolla in breaking the Sun Belt hammer throw record. Williams also coached his student-athletes to five Troy school records.

Throughout his time as a Troy assistant coach, Williams signed 58 athletes to the Trojan squad, including the No. 4 high school girls’ discus thrower, the No. 15 high school girls’ 300-meter hurdler, and the No. 16 high school boys’ 110-meter high-hurdler, along with five NJCAA All-Americans.

Prior to joining the Trojan’s staff, Williams spent a semester as the assistant track and field coach at Bethune-Cookman, where he served as the coach of throws and pole vault. He helped his athletes to two Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) pole vault records, four school pole vault records, and four MEAC Championships.

Williams also spent one year as the assistant track and field coach at Georgia Southern. In that year, five of his athletes scored points for the Eagles at the Sun Belt Conference Championships and one made the school’s Top-Five List.

Before embarking on his collegiate coaching career, Williams had a stint as the co-head track and field coach at South Eugene/Thurston High School in Eugene, Oregon. Along with coaching, Williams assisted in administrative duties and oversaw all aspects of strength training. He coached eight state qualifiers, seven All-State performers, two school record-holders, and nine district champions. 

Williams spent one year with the Emerald Valley Track Club as well, coaching 21 USATF Junior Olympic national qualifiers and nine USATF Junior Olympic All-Americans.

As a student-athlete, Williams attended Ball State for one year before transferring to Southern Oregon where he was a four-time All-Conference performer in the shot put and hammer throw.