James Morales ’22, ’24 named Outstanding Islander Graduate for the College of Education and Human Development
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The roar of the crowd, the splashy outfits, the crash of a good body slam — there is nothing like the spectacle of professional wrestling. It was that spectacle that hooked the imagination of James Morales ’22, ’24 at an early age.
“My passion for professional wrestling sparked my curiosity about how these athletes build their strength and stamina and recover from injuries to perform at such a high level,” Morales said. “My curiosity led me to a sports medicine class in high school. From that moment, I was hooked.”
Morales, the Summer 2024 Outstanding Islander Graduate from the College of Education and Human Development at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, has set an ambitious goal: to work as a strength and conditioning coach for the WWE.
“My ultimate goal is to one day help the next John Cena, and I will work tirelessly until that dream becomes a reality,” Morales said.
In fall 2014, Morales started his bachelor’s degree in kinesiology at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi after earning an associate’s degree in kinesiology from Del Mar College. In 2016, Morales paused his studies to pursue a career in personal training.
“In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic and quarantine, I realized that to continue following my dreams, I needed to step up and obtain the qualifications to coach and train professional athletes,” Morales said. “The world may have stopped, but professional athletes did not. I immediately registered to return to TAMU-CC.”
After a six-year hiatus, he returned to the classroom at age 29 to earn a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology. From there, he went on to the master’s degree program at TAMU-CC while also obtaining his strength and conditioning specialist certification from the National Strength and Conditioning Association. With that certification, he has been able to work with pre-teen and teenage athletes.
“I am currently coaching and creating tailored exercise programs for 14 individual clients,” Morales said. “They include female and male athletes from various sports such as soccer, volleyball, cheer, basketball, and swimming.”
He also served as a graduate assistant under his mentor, Dr. Ron Snarr, Associate Professor of Exercise Physiology.
But perhaps Morales’ biggest opportunity to date would happen in the 2023-2024 academic year when he was offered the chance to be the strength and conditioning coach for the Islanders Cheer and Dance Team.
“This was an incredible opportunity that I had never imagined I would get — the chance to program, design, and implement weight room and conditioning workouts for a Division I athletic team,” Morales said. “This provided me with invaluable practical experience. Watching the team progress as athletes through the art of strength and conditioning was nothing short of a blessing.”
Grants, scholarships, support from his wife, and mentorship from Snarr have helped Morales find his way once again to the graduation stage. He’ll receive a Master of Science in Kinesiology with a 3.9 GPA during the Summer 2024 Commencement Ceremony on Saturday, Aug. 10. His next goal is to earn a doctorate in kinesiology. After that, he hopes to finally land his dream job where his favorite wrestlers train, at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida. As that dream becomes closer to reality, Morales says he won’t forget the impact TAMU-CC had on his journey.
“I owe every single one of my successes to the staff and athletes at the Island University,” Morales said. “I wholeheartedly believe that I would not have received the same level of education in the field of strength and conditioning anywhere else in the country.”
