“I want to work in football,” third year Concordia student RJ James would tell people when they asked what he planned to do with his sociology degree. The Stingers football team equipment manager and backup goaltender, James, 22 has done just that.
After another successful season as assistant equipment manager of the Eastern conference champion Montreal Alouettes, RJ has been offered a position with the Hamilton Tiger Cats of the Canadian Football League, as their head equipment manager. Marcel Desjardins, former assistant general manager of the Als took over in Hamilton this season, and before he left, RJ “jokingly mentioned to him not to forget about me.”
Desjardins didn’t forget about James, and contacted him in early October. At that point, Desjardins was unsure if he were going to let go of the current equipment manager or not. About two weeks ago, he called James with the news. “He wanted to add to my excitement, since the Als had just won the East, and I was going to the Grey Cup.”
RJ, whose father is the head equipment manager of the Als, began his career “as a ball boy, helping the lonely kickers, and as the years went on I helped more and more.”
Along with his assistant status with the Alouettes, RJ has also been the equipment manager for the Concordia Stingers for the past three years. Before he started here, Stingers head coach, Gerry McGrath, who knows James’ father, met RJ at Alouettes training camp. “I had just got back from NFL Europe. He suggested that I come work for the Stingers football team.”
While working with the Stingers has given him invaluable experience, he noted that things will be different in the pros. “It’s a totally different atmosphere. Here, everyone’s striving for the same goal, we’re all equal, trying to get all our school work done, go to classes and football. As well, in the CFL, players come and go a lot more than here, where there’s less movement.”
James’ own football career was cut short in high-school after a broken collar bone. He was a receiver. “I missed it for a bit, but at the time I was concentrating more on hockey. But working with football is still a great environment, it doesn’t even feel like work.”
Bread and buttered in Montreal, this will be James’ first real time living away from home. “I’ve been away for a little while here and there, like when I went to Europe, and Green Bay.” RJ’s uncle is the equipment manager for the Green Bay Packers.
And though he says he is sad to leave behind the hockey team he has been part of for the last three years, he says he hopes to play some pick up, and that the trainer for the Tiger Cats plays in a league down there. (He shouldn’t have too much trouble; Toronto area’s beer leagues are so short on goaltenders, they pay goalies to play pick-up games.)
“Obviously I’m going to miss my family and friends,” he admitted. “But I think it’ll be fun being out on my own. I see myself working a lot. It’ll be an adjustment, but I’m already pretty independent. I do my own laundry, and cook for myself. I’m never home when my family is home,” he said with a laugh.
He left last Friday, even though the Grey Cup was just two weeks ago.
“We have to do inventory, all the stuff from this year, see what we need to replace. I’ll have to get comfortable with the new settings. There’s an equipment show in January, where we’ll see all the new stuff. It won’t be too hectic this time of year, but there’s a lot to get done, and in my case, I’m going to have to re-organize things to something I’m comfortable with.
“I’ll be back for Christmas and New Year, and in the off-season hopefully I’ll be able to come down for some long weekends.” He also hopes to check up on his hockey teammates in late January as they face Ryerson and University of Toronto.
After working with his father since 1996, James will finally have the chance to run the show his way. “It’s going to be a little different, my dad was my boss and I learned a lot from him, and my uncles. It’ll be different not answering to someone.” But he’s not nervous. “I’ve been around enough, I’m excited more than anything.”
While he was hoping that something would eventually come up, “I had no idea it would be so soon. In all honesty, this is what I thought I’d be doing, just not so soon.” That aside, he still plans to finish his education taking online courses from Concordia.
With McMaster so close, it would be easier to take some classes part-time there, but “I really want to finish at Concordia. I know I could take 30 credits at another school, but my goal is to finish with a degree from Concordia. It was something I started, and this is the school I always wanted to go to. It means something to me, and as well, I’ll be the first person in my family to graduate from university, and it’s something I’m proud of.”
With a full-time job, James anticipates his degree “taking a little longer than I thought, but if I’m working all the time, I won’t feel so bad going part time.”
Over the last three years, RJ’s contributed to both the hockey and football teams at Concordia in important roles, both out of the spotlight. According to him, being the backup goalie is a lot like being the equipment manager, “the two are very much the same at times. If you do something right, a few people might notice, but if you screw up, everyone is going to know. It’s good for me, because I enjoy being part of the team without being in the spotlight.”
“I have a lot of good memories, the Germany trip with the hockey team is something I’m never going to forget. Those guys are people I’ll always remember. And so many random things from football. Every time you’re around a bunch of good people, you’ll always have good memories.”
He’ll be leaving behind the hockey team mid-way through their rebuilding season, passing the torch onto one of the youngest players in the university hockey league, Mike Schreider. “I talked to him, told him to just keep working hard. My first year I had a good relationship with Patty [Lepage] and [Trevor] Cunning (the other Stingers goaltender). I think Mike might have even learned something – he said he did,” RJ joked.
“As much as we’re sorry to see RJ leave, I’m really proud of him. It’s a great opportunity for him, and we’re ecstatic. He has been a mainstay on this team, and a workhorse in practice,” said men’s hockey coach, Kevin Figsby.
“I’d just like to thank everyone at Concordia. Kevin Figsby, Gerry McGrath, Stewie [Wilson] (hockey team equipment manager), and everyone at recreation and athletics,” James said succinctly, and gave a contented smile.
