Meet James Caldwell | Coach & Mentor

We had the good fortune of connecting with James Caldwell and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi James, how has your background shaped the person you are today?
I’m from San Diego California, Southeast, in particular. My background is in athletics, community, and civic engagement and I wanted to create something that would mesh those 3 things together. My great grandparents arrived here in the 1960s from Texas and Oklahoma and really had that family/community mentality. From there is where I learned the importance of teamwork, sacrifice, and what selflessness actually means. My upbringing was good for the most part. I’m the oldest of 6 children between my mother and father so I was always put in somewhat of a managerial role. I learned the word responsibility at a young age being put in charge of “holding down the fort” when my mom was working. That allowed me to understand importance of teamwork and sacrifice which I believe are vital with any successful venture.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
What sets me apart from others are my passion, commitment, and dedication to helping the underserved youth pursue their goals. Being able to mentor and guide these kids from grade school through college isn’t easy but I try to be more solution based rather than preoccupied with the obstacles. Nothing worth having is easy and attacking obstacles and challenges head on is the best way to achieve any goal. I’m most proud when I see the children in our program grow and develop into productive young adults. The ability to have an impact in the development of someone’s life isn’t something I take lightly because we never know what that person is going through or dealing with. As far as my brand, I’d want people to know our acronym #TRAAP. Teamwork Responsibility Accountability Attitude = Progress. I believe those words are the key to success in any walk of life.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
If my best friend was visiting we would definitely take a beach tour starting at Ocean Beach heading up to La Jolla Cove. Each beach trip is worth a full day so there goes the whole week.lol! Too many restaurants to name but I love San Diego’s Mexican food so we’d have plenty options to choose from. For a little bit of nightlife I’d definitely visit U-31 in North Park and have Mom’s Chicken and Waffles while we watch some sports. I also love going to The Observatory because the acoustics are great and there’s not a bad seat in the house. Mic Drop Comedy Club is one of the best venues to see live comedy in San Diego and their staff is great. Viejas Arena is also on the list because I’m a big San Diego State basketball fan.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I’d like to shoutout my son, James Caldwell Jr. He’s definitely been a big inspiration in my life by giving me a sense of purpose and drive. There are so many more people I could shoutout but he’s the reason behind why I started this mission.

Website: youngandprosperous.org

Instagram: youngbulls_619