May 6, 2010
by Paige Thompson, Illinois Sports Information
Each year, the Male Fighting Illini Spirit Award is given to an athlete who goes beyond the role of athletics. This athlete displays pride, courage, leadership, and the spirit of Fighting Illini athletics. This year, the University of Illinois was fortunate to be graced with two such athletes. The co-winners of the 2010 Male Spirit Award are senior Luke Stannard of the men's gymnastics team and senior Juice Williams of the football team.
Luke Stannard has received multiple honors and awards, including Big Ten and USA Gymnastics national titles on the pommel horse, but this award means something very different to him.
"A lot of the awards I've won are based on physical performance, but it's kind of a one meet hit or miss, not an overall representation of four years," says Stannard. "It means a lot to me. One of the things that was very important to me was the intangible things I could contribute to the team, not necessarily competing but bringing the team together as a whole."
As senior team captain, Luke has gone above and beyond. If a teammate's class attendance began to drop, Stannard would wake him up every morning making sure that teammate made it to his morning classes. He would take it upon himself to analyze post-meet video and make adjustments to improve the team score. Each week, Luke would inspire his teammates by writing philosophical quotes and post them in the locker room. The success of the team was always his number one priority.
Coach Justin Spring says of Stannard, "He has continually gone over and beyond anything I have asked him to do as a captain. He's driven, motivated, and passionate about this team unlike anyone else. He truly cares deeply about the success of this Illini program and everyone involved with it."
His teammates are also aware of his commitment to the success of the program. Stannard was voted "Most Valuable Gymnast" by the rest of the team, yet another honor not directly related to his gymnastics performance.
"It means a lot that my teammates voted for me," says Stannard. "It's a very family-oriented program. From the beginning of the year to the end of the year we've learned a lot from each other."
Quarterback Juice Williams was a four-year starter for the Fighting Illini football team, and was the face of the program in many ways. Each day, he came to practice willing to do whatever he could to make the team better. He constantly displayed a positive attitude and motivated his teammates to do the same.
"He was a natural leader and worked hard on and off the field to lead his teammates in the right direction," Coach Ron Zook says of Williams. "He retained that positive attitude even during an extremely difficult season when he didn't reach his personal goals and we didn't reach our team goals."
Williams also exhibited his passion to inspire others through the Hometown Heroes program, a community service organization. He made numerous appearances at different youth groups and schools in both the Chicago and Champaign areas. When Juice read a story about a young boy in Mahomet who had a liver transplant, he was so moved by it that he took the time to visit the boy at his home and show his support.
"Juice was a great representative for the University of Illinois whenever he made an appearance," continued Zook. "He is very proud of being a Fighting Illini and will be a great ambassador to this university as he moves on in life."
