- ttsportdiary
Julius James Named as InterMiami FC’s Special Olympics’ Head Coach
Former Trinidad and Tobago International and MLS standout defender Julius James has been named as the Head Coach of InterMiami Special Olympics Unified Athlete Team on Tuesday morning. This move was set to happen almost two years ago but never got off the ground due to the global pandemic. “I am humbled and blessed by this opportunity to help others and give back. This has been 2 years in the making, I'm happy it's finally off the ground, but there is alot of work to do still” James told T&T Sport Diary.
James, who is big on community development and positive engagement, has been with the Miami team for roughly two and a half years. He works with the club’s pro academy (U-12) which is mainly tasked with developing the players’ condition and introducing them to professional culture - socially, mentally and on-the-field.
“My mindset Is to do every thing as onto the honor and glory of God, because I would not be here without Him. God gave this to me.” The former Columbus Crew legend also plans on using his experience and expertise gained abroad to create a positive impact in Trinidad and Tobago via the CanBouPlay Foundation, for which he is one of the founding members. “My mindset is also to learn and absorb great amounts of information so I could flow this said information and resources to Trinidad and Tobago via the CanBouPlay foundation and our collaborations with other organizations (eg police youth clubs) and communities in the country.”
We can all agree that coaching special needs is indeed something that only few people can master but James already has great experience in the field as some of the closest people in his life are differently abled. “I have a special needs uncle that I grew up with, and my best friend is deaf, I always think about the lack of awareness, opportunities and support for these communities in my country and region. At The CBP Foundation we work with the differently abled and disenfranchised. I have always given back throughout my career especially to the differently-abled community, if the team that I played for didn’t facilitate, I did it myself. I didn’t have to prepare for this, I was born for this.”
James’ first game is on Wednesday afternoon.