Bio
James has a M.S. degree (+45 additional credits) in Kinesiology and Health promotion with a Specialty in Sport Psychology from the University of North Texas and B.S. in Health and Physical Education from The College of New Jersey. James also received two Minors in Psychology with both, his Undergraduate and Graduate, degrees. James has been an educator for nearly 40 years.
During his time in education, James earned the distinction of being recognized as the “Teacher of the Year” and has also been nominated for the Disney National Teacher of the Year award. James has taught and/or coached at every level of education. James was a Graduate Assistant for two years at the University of North Texas where he taught many of the Health and Physical Education courses to undergraduate students and was an assistant baseball coach. James has spent 37 years teaching at the elementary school level while coaching, both Wrestling and Baseball, at (both) the Middle and High School levels for many years. James’ experience as a father of three, an elementary school Health and Physical Education Teacher, and athletic coach in youth recreation, middle school, high school, and college, has given him a unique perspective in the development of children throughout their formative years.
James’ passion for helping others become their best, has also led him into the fields of Strength and Conditioning, as a Personal Trainer, for individuals and teams. As well as a Health Coach. In addition to James’ teaching and coaching roles, James was also the Character Education coordinator in his school for nine (9) years as well as being a committee member for an additional ten plus years. In that time James was in charge of organizing and holding monthly character education assemblies. The topics included, but were not limited to, Respect, Responsibility, Integrity, Honesty, Effort, Teamwork, Perseverance and Perspective to name a few.
Today, James is a speaker and the Author of the I Can and I Will! children’s book series through Crossroads Publishing LLC. The series currently has fifteen picture book titles (six currently available on Amazon) and two-chapter book titles (one currently available on Amazon), with an adult self-help book presently in the works. James’ first published work was an article entitled “The Power of Imagery” which was featured in Junior Baseball Magazine’sMay/June 2004 issue.
James has been the featured speaker in well over 100 presentations for school assemblies, athletic teams, and businesses.
With the changing climate in schools today where safety of students and student welfare are a great concern, and retirement not far off, James believed it was time to take his message to a larger audience through writing and speaking in schools.
For over thirty years, James’ students have heard and said the phrase “When we get to that hill… I CAN AND I WILL!” This simple, yet powerful, statement is a reminder that whatever may be difficult for us, at any point in our lives, can be dealt with and overcome when we have a strong belief in ourselves that we can, and we will, overcome any adversity.
