Former Up2Us Sports coach Isaac Williams was recently named a grand prize winner in USA Football’s Thanks Coach contest. The Thanks Coach program honors coaches who have inspired their players to be better, work harder and attain more. With more than 1,000 nominations, there are no shortage of coaches around the country who are making a significant impact on the lives of young people.Williams served three consecutive terms from 2012-2015 as an Up2Us Sports Coach at member organization, Touching Miami With Love. As a child, he grew up in the program and later returned as a young adult to mentor the youth from his hometown. Upon completing his final term in July 2015, he was hired full-time by Touching Miami With Love as a Children’s Instructional Advocate. In addition to this job, he coaches the 10u Jets football team with another Up2Us Sports member organization, the Miami Police Athletic League (PAL), who nominated him for the Thanks Coach contest. Read their nomination essay below to learn more about just how remarkable a coach he is.

In addition to working and coaching, Isaac also recently completed his Associate in Arts degree in Pre-Law and Associate in Science degree in Paralegal Studies from Miami-Dade College.

Isaac humbly shared with us what it the award means to him: “Words can’t really express how much winning this award means to me and the Miami PAL organization. It’s just a small testament to how nothing goes unnoticed when you do things from the heart.”

NOMINATION ESSAY FROM MIAMI POLICE ATHLETIC LEAGUE (PAL)

This coach means everything to everyone he comes across. Coach Williams is a man of good character, he is a great teacher, and more importantly, he enjoys giving back to his community through sports - despite all the hardship and obstacles he has had to overcome. Coach Williams always goes beyond what any ordinary coach will do. He doesn't just show up to practice with balls, cones, and whistles, he takes it to the next level and shows up to his players' open house events at school. He will even go so far as to spend his mornings in the local public schools checking in on students and meeting with principals and teachers to ensure the students are doing what they need to do to be successful.

In addition to his coaching, Coach Williams is an Instructional Advocate for an organization named Touching Miami with Love, which is located in the heart of Overtown, a small under-served community. Coach Williams is the definition of "giving back," despite losing three of his older brothers to gun violence in the same community he works and live in. From taking kids from his job to football practice to meeting them on every level they are struggling with, Coach Williams shows the care and dedication these kids need and look up to. At 23 years old, Coach Isaac Williams is the glue that keeps our team together.