Two tragic deaths have created a bond between this football coach and his player
Two tragic deaths, two days apart.
Two people who were strangers at the time of those tragedies have now bonded over their sense of loss.
On Aug. 10, 2018, Northwest Christian football coach Joel Williams was awakened on his birthday by a horrifying phone call. His 27-year-old daughter, Malika Janay Royal — who was five months pregnant at the time — had been killed in a car accident. She was sitting in the passenger seat when it happened.
“I will never forget that call,” said Williams, 52. “It knocked the wind out of me.”
Two days later, Junly Deller — who was then a Miami Norland student — overheard a similar early-morning phone call to his sister.
Their mother, Lourdes Deller, had died at the age of 47. She had been hospitalized for months, initially because she had been having trouble breathing. Later, she suffered a stroke and was in a coma.
Still, the finality of it all hit Deller, who is still only 16 years old.
“When I heard what happened, I jumped out of bed,” Deller said. “It was like a shock that woke me up.”
Deller immediately went to the hospital with the two people who are now his primary care-givers: his brother, Julderson, 21, and his sister, Marie, 19.
“I didn’t know how to process the feeling of never being able to see my mom again,” Deller said. “I sat down and cried.”
Deller, a Haitian native, said his mother was funny and always encouraged him to speak Creole as well as English.
“She was caring,” Deller said. “She put others before her.
“I was her last child. She would always have a little extra food for me … We’d talk about anything. I’d go to her first. She wouldn’t judge. She would correct me but support me.”
After his mom died, Deller stopped going to football practice at Norland and essentially quit the team.
“I was around kids — they’ve got their mom, and I can’t see mine ever again,” Deller said. “It hurt.”
Since then, however, fate has brought him and Williams together at Northwest Christian, which this year brought back football for the first time since 2014.
Deller, a senior, is now Northwest Christian’s starting quarterback. He is also active in his church, a good student and wildly popular at school, where, it seems, everyone just wants to help him reach his potential.
At some point, Williams found out about Deller’s mom and then shared the story of his own grieving process.
That strengthened the bond between coach and quarterback.
“I remember talking to him about it, and it was meant to be,” said Deller, who added that he does not have a close relationship with his father. “God put Coach Williams in my life. He’s like a father figure to me.”
Added Williams: “It gave us common ground. We’re both just trying to make it day to day. Junly calls me for advice on all kinds of things. It’s rewarding but bittersweet.”
Deller, a 5-11, 205-pounder, badly wants to play college football, and he might be a fit for local NAIA schools such as St. Thomas, which started its program this year, or Florida Memorial, which will bring the sport back at its university next year.
“I feel like I’m a natural-born leader who can play quarterback at the next level, but I have to work toward that,” said Deller, who wants to study business, marketing or psychology. “I feel like I’m a burden to my siblings. I want them to live their lives and not have to worry about me.
“Going to college on a scholarship would lift that burden.”
Football
▪ Calvary Christian Academy 21, Coral Springs 20 (Friday): Trailing by 13 points with under seven minutes to play, Gabe Contento engineered two touchdown drives to put the Eagles ahead. Greg Janvier scored a receiving touchdown to close to within 6 before Evan Pierce tied the game on a 1-yard run. Bryce Van Dyken kicked three extra-points on the night — including the game winner.
Boys’ golf
▪ South Florida PGA Invitational at Boca Grove Country Club, Par 72 — Vero Beach 599, Oxbridge Academy 603, Christopher Columbus 617, Ransom Everglades 633, Miami Country Day 644, Cardinal Newman 646, Belen Jesuit 647, Bishop Vernot 652, Sagemont School 661, American Heritage-Boca 670, North Broward Prep 673, King’s Academy 696, First Baptist Academy-Naples 699, Westminster Christian 737, Jupiter Christian 742. Tyler Stachkunas (OA) 70-74=144, Jake Beber-Frankel (RE) 75-70=145, Matt Yamin (MCD) 72-74=146, Alex Heard (AHD) 72-74=146, Ryan Moylin (VB) 77-70=147, Cade Coffey (VB) 72-75=147.
Girls’ volleyball
▪ La Salle d. Miami Springs 3-0 (25-19, 25-11, 26-24): Adriana Medina 3 aces, 24 assist, 6 digs; Mikayla Sanchez: 1 ace 9 kills 3 digs; Isabela Falero 3 aces, 8 kills, 1 assist, 10 digs; Samantha Santiago 5 assist, 2 digs; Christina Blanco 3 aces, 2 assist, 16 digs; Angelina Cambo 2 kills, 3 digs; Helena Marquina 1 ace, 5 kills, 2 blocks; Emma Callaghan 1 aces, 2 kills, 7 digs; Madeline Cannata 1 aces, 11 kills, 1 dig; Camila Moreno Bo 13 digs.
▪ Colonial Christian d. Marathon High School 3-1 (25-18, 25-19, 24-26, 25-18): Ariana Long 22 kills, 18 digs, 2 blocks; Morgan Wells 8 kills, 15 digs, 4 blocks, 12 points; Julianna Rendon 30 assists, 5 kills. CCS: 8-9.
▪ Colonial Christian d. Miami Christian 3-1 (25-20, 28-26, 23-25, 25-23): Ariana Long 19 kills, 10 digs, 8 aces, 10 ooints, 4 blocks; Morgan Wells 11 kills, 11 digs, 6 aces, 12 points; Julianna Rendon 29 assists, 11 kills; Jenna Friman 6 aces, 18 points.