James plays the Patriots way
Thrives on support of father
For Jonathan James, there’s no diminishing the significant impact football has made on his family.
Sure, it makes for hectic fall weekends, but for the James family, football is more than just a hobby. It is a livelihood.
With football at the core, a special bond has developed between James, a senior captain at North Attleboro, and his father Stacey, the vice president of media relations for the Patriots. That bond has been emphasized this week as Jonathan prepares to play in his final high school game tomorrow on Thanksgiving.
“All my toys growing up were little tiny footballs,” Jonathan James said. “From Day 1, it has just all been about football. It’s one of the most important things in my family.”
A two-year starter at North Attleboro, the 6-foot-2, 206-pound James, who has an older brother and younger sister, is an integral figure at tight end and outside linebacker, the same positions his father played at Rochester High in Washington.
And while Stacey concedes his son is by far the better football player, he just enjoys playing the role of a supporting father.
“It’s a lot of fun as a father to go watch your son do what they love doing out on the football field, and it’s great to see the role that he’s had now,” Stacey said. “I’ve been really proud of all that he’s accomplished on the field, and more importantly, all that he accomplishes off the field.”
Even with a demanding and high-profile job, Stacey never misses one of his son’s games. Even when the Patriots depart for a road contest on the same weekend of a North Attleboro game, Stacey will catch another flight, all in an effort to watch his son play.
“Those games are very limited in number,” Stacey said. “They’re very important to my sons, and they’re very important to me. … It’s hard to put anything ahead of family.”
On the field, the North Attleboro coaching staff sees a versatile, intelligent and unselfish player — one who seems to be cut from a Patriots cloth.
While James isn’t the leading scorer for the Red Rocketeers, he has no problem paving the way to the end zone, like he did when North Attleboro gained 300 yards on the ground in a win against Walpole. Defensively, James has a nose for the football. He recovered a fumble in the season opener when the Red Rocketeers ended King Philip’s 25-game winning streak.
“He’s got that great teamfirst attitude,” North Attleboro coach Don Johnson said. “We’ve moved him around at different positions. He’s not looking for any personal glory. He’ll do whatever we ask him to do to win a football game.”
James persists he’s just doing his job, a common phrase from his dad’s coworker. And James will hear those slogans from Stacey, who has worked for the Patriots since 1993, whenever the two discuss a game or dissect film together.
“All the time,” Jonathan said. “He preaches Belichickian.”
Both son and father know what’s next, as Stacey will watch his son don the red and white North Attleboro uniform for the last time in the 98th installment of the Thanksgiving rivalry against Attleboro.
James had offeres to play collegiately at the Division 3 level, but instead decided to focus on his academic career. He will study mechanical engineering.
But there will be no getting away from football entirely. It’s permanently in James’ blood.
“It’s certainly an emotional time,” Jonathan James said. “It just hit me the other day. This is going to be my last time taking off a pair of shoulder pads after the game. I don’t know what I’m going to do because my life has just been so much focused on football.”