After several surgeries, Coursey ascending to track stardom
ARDMORE — It still scares Dominique Coursey when he thinks back on it.
His son, William Coursey, had been born with an atrial septal defect – a birth defect in the heart where there is a hole in the septum wall dividing the upper chambers of the heart. The condition resulted in William undergoing six surgeries by the time he was age 3.
“Whenever you put a kid that young under so many surgeries,” Dominique said. “It was just rough to see him have to go through that especially at a young age.”
William also required regular steroid shots until he was 5 to help his breathing.
“It’s been very, very rough,” said Dominique, who was a star basketball player at Star Spencer in the 90s and played professionally in Mexico.
William, now 8, has defied his condition. He recently traveled to Greensboro, North Carolina, to compete in the Junior Olympics in the 100- and 200meter races and long jump.
“He’s got just a heart of a champion,” Dominique said.
Sports always looked to be out of the question for William, despite his family being so invested.
William’s older brothers, Dominique Coursey II and Dominique Coursey III, both played basketball and football. William was relegated to assisting his father in coaching.
“He was on my side, being my little assistant coach, carrying my little notepad and tablet for me,” Dominique said.
William enjoyed assisting, but when his friends started playing youth sports, he begged his father to let him play.
“I was like, ‘Hold on, I’ve got to make sure his heart is strong enough he can handle running back and forth on a basketball court or even football or even baseball,’” Dominique said.
He took William for a physical, where he was given clearance to compete in sports. There aren’t any precautions needed, but William still takes his inhaler with him everywhere to be safe.
But Dominique was still hesitant for William to play.
“I honestly really wanted to hold him back and didn’t really want him to play,” he said. “Then, it got to the point where he started asking me, ‘Dad, am I going to be able to play? I want to play.’
“You see so many movies and horror stories of kids and all that stuff.”
Dominique eventually relented, allowing William to play football, baseball and basketball with his friends. William became a star.
His biggest asset? Speed. “When you talk about fast, I mean, this kid is super fast,” Dominique said.
That quickness led to multiple people recommending William join track, a huge sport in Ardmore, where the Courseys currently live.
So, the family entered him in the State Games of Oklahoma in Oklahoma City last year to see what he could do.
William dominated, winning each competition.
“After he won that he went to another regional qualifier in Bentonville, Arkansas, and he did well there, too,” Dominique said.
Then, the father-son duo got serious about it.
Dominique took William to Tulsa, where Marcus Pugh, a former University of Oklahoma track star and Big 12 champion, helped perfect William’s technique and style.
“He worked Will in the hot sun, it was like 100 degrees. Will was out there in the hot sun and even at night, working on his technique,” Dominique said.
The next week, William traveled to Missouri for a qualifier, where he won the 100-meter dash by one millisecond.
“When he qualified in Missouri a couple weeks ago, he came back and that next Monday, he hit two home runs in a baseball game,” Dominique said. “He’s a true athlete.”
William grabbed the gold medal in the 100-meter and long jump and silver in the 200-meter en route to qualifying for the Junior Olympics.
Dominique recognized the quick ascension his son has had. He’s a proud father and even more proud his son gets to compete.
He’s thankful for what Pugh and others have done for William on the field. He’s even more thankful for his faith, gleaming about William getting baptized this past year at Northeast Missionary Baptist Church.
And after witnessing all the surgeries, the steroids, the worry William might never be able to do what he loved, just seeing him compete is enough for Dominique.
“I just want him to be healthy and have him compete,” Dominique said.
“I just told him, ‘No matter what happens at the Junior Olympics, our family is so proud of you.’ I don’t care if he comes in last place, he’s done things the right way. He’s done way more above and beyond.”