Youth sports community mourns the loss of Julius Holt

TUCSON, Ariz. (KOLD News 13) -Julius Holt passed away Monday morning at the age of 60. He was in the hospital battling pneumonia.

Holt was not only a former Wildcats football player but made a huge impact on youth sports with the Tucson Youth Football and Spirit Federation. Including Canyon del Oro High School football player, Sa’Kylee Woodard.

This field at CDO High School is not just a place where football is played. It is where football players grow. For Woodard, that is all because of Holt.

“Probably one of the biggest mentors I’ve had…I aspire to be just like him,” Woodard said.

Holt would sit in the bleachers and watch Woodard play, sometimes giving tough love.

“When he sees me, he says you need to stay low. I would come up high. He would not even say hi to me he would say, ‘you need to keep your butt down,’” Woodard said.

Holt even had a nickname for you for Woodard.

“Double NICKEL. Him and my mom came up with it. I wear number 55 and carried it on to high school. Double NICKEL, self explanatory.”

Double NICKLE is only a sophomore in high school, but University of Arizona Football already has eyes on him.

Tucson Youth Football and Spirit Federation President Don Riley monitoring kids, cheering them on in the stands and preparing them to play on a college level was who Holt was.

Riley said Holt was not just a role model for the kids, but a mentor and his best friend.

“Thank you for sharing your father and, Lisa, thank you for sharing your husband with me,” he said.

But for Woodard, Holt’s impact on him was more than just football.

“He was able to give me stuff from his experiences and all I want to do when I am finished with my career and my future, I want to be able to instill in little kids…He is big like me and I feel like I’ll look like him when I am older,” Woodard said.

Copyright 2022 KOLD News 13. All rights reserved.