In Memory of Coach John McWilliams

Montgomery, Ala.-Former Tennis Coach John McWilliams has passed away at age 87.

McWilliams began his Huntingdon College coaching career in 1991 on the heels of a 12-year tenure as head tennis coach at Marion Military Institute. During his career, he officiated service lines at the U.S. Open, served as a tennis professional, managed tennis accounts for Wilson Sporting Goods, and founded numerous tennis clubs.

As Huntingdon College head tennis coach from 1991 to 2004, Coach McWilliams founded the Huntingdon Club for Tennis, an organization for tennis players in the community to meet, play, learn, and socialize. Coach McWilliams also led his number one men's doubles team to the round of sixteen at the NAIA national tournament in 1994.

"Coach John McWilliams was one-of-a-kind," Huntingdon College President J. Cameron West said. "He loved tennis and loved his players, helping them to build skills and success both on and off the court. Coach McWilliams advanced the game of tennis in the eyes of children in the community, offering annual tournaments and camps on campus and providing scholarships and racquets for youth who couldn't afford the camp fees or equipment. He also raised a great deal of money for charities from his annual tennis tournaments. Certainly, his was a life well-lived."

His legacy continues to grow through Tennis Across Montgomery, an event Coach McWilliams founded in 1996, designed to aid the Family Sunshine Center and to introduce underprivileged children to the game of tennis. Since 2013, Huntingdon has hosted the John McWilliams Fall Invitational Tournament. The College also presents the John McWilliams Sportsmanship Award to a male student-athlete each year.

"Sportsmanship was a primary point of focus for Coach McWilliams and his teams.  He made it a point to promote the subject on our campus well after his coaching days had passed and even though he was not their current coach, he was not afraid to let a Hawks tennis player know if their sportsmanship was lacking," Director of Athletics Eric Levanda said.  "The sportsmanship award in his name is a lasting recognition of the positive impact he has had on the Huntingdon athletic department.  With each visit to campus, he would always ask about every team at Huntingdon and would state how proud he was of all our programs.  He loved Huntingdon."

McWilliams founded and directed the Alabama Tennis Academy, a summer camp that supported the growth of junior tennis by instructing hundreds of young players for nearly thirty years. 

"Coach was a mentor to me. I had the opportunity to work for him at the Alabama Tennis Academy at Huntingdon for many years," Head Men's Tennis Coach Tony Franklin said. "I learned something new from him every year. When I got hired as the coach at Wallace State, I went to Coach McWilliams to get his advice on running the program. When we won the Conference Tournament, Coach was one of the first I called. Coach McWilliams will be greatly missed."

"Upon graduating from Auburn University at Montgomery, Coach McWilliams opened the door for my career as a tennis coach by hiring me to be his assistant coach at Huntingdon College," Former Women's Tennis Coach Ximena Moore said. "After his retirement, one year later, he recommended to Huntingdon that I assume the Head Women's tennis coaching position which I held for 20 years."

"This instance of him helping me is just an example of the many individuals that benefited from knowing Coach," Moore said "He provided guidance when it was needed, and I will miss his tennis stories. Whatever success I have achieved as a tennis coach is a result of Coach McWilliams' influence. Coach lived and left us a legacy of love, compassion, encouragement, and support."

McWilliams is a member of the Alabama Tennis Hall of Fame and the Huntingdon College Athletic Hall of Fame. In 2000, he received the United States Professional Tennis Association "Pride of the South" Award for teaching excellence, character and contributions to the game. He was a proud recipient of the Jim Wilson Award given by the Blue Gray National Tennis Classic. In 2015, he was honored by Marion Military Institute Alumni Brigade as their Honored Faculty/Staff Award Recipient.