BOISE, Idaho (KBOI) — Lacrosse is often called an 'East Coast' sport, because that's where the sport originated. But one family in Boise is trying to change that.
At Timberline High School you'll find an unstoppable coaching duo. They're pretty humble about it, too.
"We're decent," assistant head coach TJ Williams said. "We still have a lot of work to do, but we seem to be getting the job done the past couple years."
But the trophies these coaches have show the Timberline Wolves lacrosse team is more than just decent, they're the best in the state. The Wolves are back-to-back state champions: winning the 5A title in 2015 and 2016.
And that duo that leads the team: the Williams brothers.
"He's my brother, but he's really my best friend," said the older brother, TJ.
They're best friends with the same love for a sport they've been helping develop and grow in Idaho for the past decade. Eleven years ago, TJ Williams came home and asked his dad if he could play lacrosse.
"He was like, 'I don't really know what that is.'"
Back then, the sport wasn't school sanctioned; there was no gear provided or any medical attention.
"It was organized chaos," he said. "I had a bunch of old-school helmets that I got back in the 60s and 70s that had mask gear-holes and everybody else had these sleek designs. I looked like I0 was playing hockey with a big face mask and I had hockey pads for pads, and hockey gloves."
But whatever mis-matched gear he'd wear, there was no making fun of TJ's skill. He was good. And he loved playing... so much, he recruited his brother.
"I was playing sports year round," Alex Williams said. "I wanted a little more contact when I wasn't playing football (though) so, we picked up lacrosse and really got obsessed with it."
Both brothers went on to play collegiate lacrosse. TJ went to Boise State University, and Alex headed to Chapman University in Southern California.
"He (Alex) literally took it to a whole other level," his brother TJ said. "He was very determined."
Alex's team was ranked in the top five of the 'Mens Collegiate Lacrosse Association' all but one year he was there.
"Here in Idaho the game wasn't developed as much," Alex said. "Then going and playing in California, I learned a whole new game down there, and learned how the game was supposed to be played."
That 'whole new game' is what he's brought back here to Timberline teens.
But the Williams brothers aren't the only ones in their family involved in the sport. Mom is heavily involved too.
"(I'm) pretty proud of them," she said.
Maggie Williams has her own team to manage... more like teams. She's the president of the only local, non-travel lacrosse club in the Treasure Valley: the Treasure Valley Youth Lacrosse League.
She said when her boys started playing, the lacrosse league in Idaho was run by the soccer association.
"I said 'whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa,' I said, 'time-out,'" she said. "Lacrosse people need to run lacrosse."
So, she and a couple other people took it over, allowing it to grow as its own sport.
And that's not all.
"It's really fun, because you know everyone is supporting you and have your back," said Maggie's grandchild, Kaya Bond.
Yep, you'll find Maggie's grandkids on the lacrosse field too, in the league she manages. The light in their eyes is similar to their uncles' when they stepped on the field for the first time.
Kaleb, Kaya's twin brother, told us he wants to be just like his uncles someday.
"They've (Alex and TJ) come to a few of my games and a few of my brothers," Kaya said. "It's kind of like you want to do stuff to impress them."
East Coast sport?
This Idaho lacrosse family will tell you otherwise.
Even with the winter weather hitting the Treasure Valley, the Williams are thinking warmer weather, as spring sign ups are now underway.
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