Former Bahamian football player in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, Eugene McMinns had dreams of making it to the professional ranks. After that fell short, he looked elsewhere, and on Tuesday, answered the call to coach football, accepting the wide receivers’ coaching position for the Dalhousie University Tigers in Halifax.
He is excited to be a part of the program and cannot wait to work with the players.
“I am extremely excited,” McMinns said. “I feel good. I feel like I am in a position to give back and help younger guys accomplish their goals in life and share the same passion for the game of football.”
The former Acadia University and Holland College player said he saw the advertisement on social media and decided to give it a try.
“They posted something on Facebook and I commented. I said I have nothing to lose, so why not try get the position. I knew there were a lot of other coaches in the province, so I would be surprised if he messaged me back. Within the next hour, he hit me back up. We exchanged numbers and then we spoke the next day. He spoke to me about my career at Holland College and Acadia. He knew more about me than I did about him and the rest is history,” McMinns said.
Dalhousie plays in the Atlantic Football League (AFL), which decided from June to cancel its 2020 season. Nova Scotia has recorded just four new cases of COVID-19 since October 1, according to reports. In the absence of a season this year, McMinns will be working on recruitment for the 2021 season.
McMinns grew up in St. Cecilia’s in Coconut Grove and attended C.R. Walker Senior High School after Jordan Prince William. He played flag football here for the Strong Back Rams. McMinns said he wants the receiving core at Dalhousie to be among the best in the league.
“I am hoping to obtain an elite wide receiving squad at Dalhousie,” McMinns said. “I want to come out the gate blazing. I want everyone in the league to fear this wide receiver squad and I feel that Dalhousie has the athletes to do that. It would be a dream to help younger guys be better on and off the football field and watch it come true.”
McMinns went to Holland College in 2013 and graduated in 2015. That same year, he was recruited to Acadia University to play football, and in 2017, helped to win a Loney Bowl trophy – an award presented to the winner of the Atlantic University Sport (AUS) Football Conference of U Sports. McMinns said he looked up to Bahamian Devard Darling who played in the National Football League (NFL) and Karl McCartney who played in the Canadian Football League (CFL).
McMinns said he wants to help bring in some Bahamian players at Dalhousie because a Bahamian helped him get to Holland College and get an opportunity to realize his goals. He said he wants to give back to the game of football and help young Bahamian athletes.
The 27-year-old started an event management page called ‘Shockwave’ that helps international students get settled in Canada. He remembered how difficult it was for him to get adjusted and settled when he first went to Canada, so now he speaks at seminars at various universities to help others get adjusted.
The post McMinns tagged as receivers’ coach at Dalhousie appeared first on The Nassau Guardian.
source https://thenassauguardian.com/mcminns-tagged-as-receivers-coach-at-dalhousie/
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