story by Lindsay King
Fresh off a tough state finals, Creek Williams from Colony, Oklahoma, has goals for his seventh grade season in the OKJHSRA set. “My goal is to make it to nationals in all my events: ribbon, calf and breakaway roping. I am going to practice a lot more than I did this year and work hard to catch more calves,” said the 12-year-old. Creek will be balancing both rodeo and school sports this coming year at Weatherford Middle School. “We were not able to play sports in sixth grade but this year I will play football, basketball and baseball. Practice is in the morning for seventh graders, so I can come home and rope at night. But I don’t usually rope until later in the evening anyways.” Playing the positions of catcher and outfield in baseball and a wing in basketball, Creek has only ever played touch football. “Baseball is my favorite because it makes you think about what you are doing. I have to decide when to throw the ball or run, it keeps me on my toes.”
The first time Creek roped a calf, he was standing on a barrel at his neighbor’s house. “I nodded my head and the calf came out of the chute, I roped him smooth with a breakaway rope. That was how I first got into roping about five years ago.” Creek’s favorite rodeo event is tie-down roping. “I like to get down there and work to get the calf down.” He looks up to fellow calf roper, Cory Solomon. “I am probably going to be short and Cory is also. But he is fast and a great calf roper.”
The most helpful people to Creek both inside and out of the practice pen are his parents Jordan and Kelsey. “My dad always helps me by showing me what I can do better when we practice. And of course, they take me to all the rodeos.” Both of his parents went to Southwestern Oklahoma State University in Weatherford, Creek plans to rodeo there and make it to the CNFR one day. He has a wide array of options for a career: pilot, insurance agent or police officer. “Every time I see a police officer I think it would be cool to explore their job and I love being in the airport and flying.
And as far as the insurance agent goes, I just think it would be neat to get my name all over town and help people.”
His favorite roping event so far has been Chris Neal’s Rising Stars and Future Stars Calf Ropings, Creek has attended multiple. “I am usually about five out of the short go, but this year I made it back at the Patriot.” Creek’s proudest moment to date was winning third in the short round and sixth in the average in the breakaway roping at the Patriot. “I was proud of myself because I placed sixth out of a ton of great ropers. It was a great feeling to come out on top.” Part of his success is treating the first calf out of the chute at practice as if at a real rodeo. “The biggest part of rodeo success and failure for me is my mental game. That is why I try to practice like I will be competing. Sometimes I get into my head and just make myself way too nervous and other times I just go out there and rope like I know how to do.” Creek enjoys OKJHSRA for the competition but also for his friends. “I like getting to hang out with the friends I don’t see everyday at school. And they all love rodeo, so we can talk about that, which I can’t really do with my friends at school.”
