A Tougher Goal to Tackle : A Rough Road Still Lies Ahead in Williams’ Quest for College Career

Oswaldo Williams has often been bullied by teen-agers twice his size who try to knock him off his feet. A few even try to break his legs.

His problems don’t stem from playground incidents at Bell High or neighborhood street fights.

No, the 5-foot-6 Williams faces his adversaries as a center-forward on the soccer field.

Williams was Bell’s leading scorer--24 goals--but he often paid the price for his talents.

“He was dangerous,” said Belmont Coach Nancy Carr-Swaim, whose team beat Bell, 1-0, in the City Section final. “We knew he couldn’t be left alone to take a shot. During the few times he wasn’t marked closely, he took shots . . . hard shots that he barely missed.”

Although Williams finished his career at Bell, his high school season has not ended. This week, Williams competed in the Dallas Cup for boys under 19, which is recognized as the youth club world championship tournament. He is playing for Salsa 19, a youth team associated with the L.A. Salsa of the American Professional Soccer League.

Williams, 18, is also a finalist for the 1994 Puma Cup Invitational, the only national all-star soccer tournament for high school seniors. More than 500 players were evaluated to compete in the tournament, which will be June 9-11 at St. Louis. ESPN will televise the Puma Cup, which will consist of four 16-member regional teams.

His selection to all-star games has helped ease the pain of not winning a City final, but it hasn’t eliminated his potential to receive more bumps and bruises.

“It was very important to me that I play well in these tournaments,” Williams said. “I didn’t get a chance to win a high school championship. I’m going to make these tournaments my championship games.”

Williams is arguably the best player to compete in the City Section this season. He has the ability to play traditional Latin-style soccer, which involves artistic, ball-control skills. He also survived the physical demands and high-intensity markings found in European-style games. Williams is considered a “hybrid” player which has come into demand by collegiate and foreign professional teams.

“He has great vision of the field along with great quickness,” said Bell Coach Jesus Torres. “He is able to pause, then sprint and explode past a defender. I think kids his age are barely in second gear. He is in fourth gear.”

His ball control and his instinct to anticipate a sliding defender made Williams difficult to tackle. It often took two players to front Williams and one to attack him from behind. By drawing a crowd, Williams was able to slip passes to teammate Maynor Alvarez, another of the City’s top scorers.

“Sometimes, we were physical with him,” Carr-Swaim said. “Sometimes he made a foul look worse than it was. But we did drop him a few times.”

Williams’ soccer achievements are even more remarkable considering his life off the field.

He was born in Mexico City, where his mother still lives, and moved to Bell when he was 14. He said he met his father for about five minutes when he was 4.

He has told Bart Brown, his coach for four years at the club level: “I’m Mexican by birth but American by choice.”

Williams was raised by his 27-year-old brother, Horacio, but now lives with his sister and her husband. Horacio died two weeks ago from a protracted illness. “I considered Horacio my father because he was always around for me,” Williams said.

Academically he struggled to maintain a C average and has not taken a college-entrance exam to qualify for a scholarship. Williams said he wants to study computer science at an American university before he begins a professional career, but financially he may not be able to afford it.

Williams is being recruited by Notre Dame, Nevada Las Vegas, UC Santa Barbara and several other NCAA Division I soccer schools.

He also is being courted by the L.A. Salsa and also received a tryout with a professional team associated with the National Autonomous University of Mexico, the UNAM Pumas.

“He has some options,” Torres said. “Hopefully, he will gain a spot with Salsa or a professional team in Mexico. But I hate to see him put all his marbles in soccer. He can suffer an ankle sprain or break a leg. He has a good chance, but it’s very competitive.”

While Williams can realize instant financial rewards--the average professional soccer player can expect to make $30,000 a year, while the top players in Mexico can earn $100,000--he also risks the chance of a major injury.

“Latin players have to deal with the reality that some big guy is going to mug you,” said Brown. “Players are going to hack you to compensate for their lack of skill.”