For Eatonton native Robert “Buster” Williams, it’s all about the kids.
The longtime Putnam County Recreation Department youth baseball coach insists he gets every bit as much enjoyment seeing his young players have fun on the field as he does by watching them win a game.
But Williams knows plenty about winning, too. In 28 years of coaching 7-8, 9-10, and 11-12-year-old baseball and softball teams, he’s tasted victory 363 times while securing 19 district championships along the way.
In 2002, with his daughter Shanae on the team, Putnam County finished as runners-up in the All-State Championship Class C 10-and-under girls fastpitch tournament in Dahlonega. Williams also won a state championship as a rec football assistant under head coach Terry Dunn.
However, success is not based on victories alone, Williams stressed.
“You know, you can learn from a loss just as much, maybe even more, than you can from a win,” he said.
Williams said he started coaching before the county was even able to provide its teams with basic equipment to compete.
“I can remember when the league did not have enough funds to get jerseys with names on them,” Williams told The Eatonton Messenger in 2006. “We were writing our numbers on the back of t-shirts.”
He also stepped up in those early days while working as a contractor and land developer by purchasing and donating equipment to the county in order to help maintain its facilities. Furthermore, Williams built a baseball field on his own property to facilitate team practices.
“[Williams] is a friend of both the department and the community,” then-County Recreation Director Stevie Young said in the same Eatonton Messenger article. “He is a very positive influence on the kids and helps in any way possible.”
Williams also gave his young charges a taste of the big leagues, evidenced by taking them and their parents to a Braves vs. Astros game in June 2004, complete with two limousines pressed into service to and from Turner Field in downtown Atlanta.
Williams has dipped his toe into local politics, too, running in the 2004 Democratic primary for the county’s District 2 commission seat after previously serving three years on the county’s planning and zoning commission.
These days, politics are behind him, Williams said, but he’s enjoyed being back in the baseball/ softball mix after a retirement from coaching following the 2006 season.
He said he couldn’t be happier or more satisfied with the support his teams now receive from current Putnam County Recreation Department Director Scott Haley and his staff.
“They all do a great job there,” Williams said. “They keep the park and the fields in great shape. Everything is always ready for us to play there. It couldn’t be any better.”
Most recently, Williams said he’s been coaching the Putnam County 7-8-years-old girls’ softball team.
“To be honest, I need them a lot more than they need me,” he said. “Kids these days are getting so good, so young. But no matter who they are or how good they are, with me, everybody gets to play. Everybody gets to play.”
He also stressed how important parental and community support is to any player, coach, or sports team overall.
“I want to thank all the parents who let me coach their kids, as well as all the other coaches and assistant coaches out there, everyone at the county and rec department that provide facilities, and thanks to my own family for their support over the years,” Williams said. “I mean, without them, there would be no us.”