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Try walking in the shoes of AIC football player
Collin James, who has juggled the responsibilities of school, work and family.
All while being a 31-year-old in a young man’s sport.
“He decided for the welfare of his family that he wanted to improve himself,” AIC coach
Art Wilkins said of James, who emigrated to the United States from St. Elizabeth, Jamaica, in 1993. “He’s kind of the Horatio Alger story. He’s living his dream.”
What Americans take for granted, is often daunting to immigrants. Such was the case with James, a business management major, and his new-found sport.
“I was a soccer fan and cricket player. I was used to playing street soccer,” said the 6-foot-5, 295-pound James, who played baseball, volleyball and soccer at Springfield Commerce High School.
“I happened to meet Travis Poole, one of the best AIC student-athletes and a top receiver. We met in the summer of 2006 after he saw me playing touch football. He told me to talk to (Wilkins).”
The rest, as they say, is history.
“It was kind of unique,” Wilkins said. “He showed up one day in January. Now, he’s a hulking figure and he looked like he was in pretty good trim. He looked a lot older than everybody else. What I say to anybody, I said to him. ‘You’re welcome.’ He was very amenable but we have very intense workouts and I figured he’d be gone in about three days. He was there every workout and he was working a night job at the time.”
James turned 31 last week during a bye for AIC (4-3, 2-3 Northeast-10). Before this year, James, who plays right guard, would often ask himself if he was too old for the challenge he was undertaking.
“I did think that at first and one of the first things I asked was if there was an age limit,” he said. “I didn’t have the funds to come to school so I had to walk on and win a scholarship. That became one of my driving forces.”
James’ wife is from Springfield and the couple has four children: Collin, Jr., 8; Tayzhon, 7; Davion, 4; and Anjaleah, 2. He met his wife, who attended the same high school, while working security screening at Bradley Airport. James left there to work at Milton Bradley (now Hasbro Co.) for two years before he was laid off.
“Unfortunately, it worked out that way. I was desperate, when you’re desperate you do things you have to do without thinking,” James said. “I have a wife that understood the situation and helped me out any way she can. It helped me stay focused in classes.”
Between family, school and football, James remains busy juggling his time and responsibilities watching the children while his wife works. His two oldest boys play Pop Warner. Collin, Jr. has served as AIC ballboy.
“Busy? More than I know. It can be pretty tough,” James said. “That was really hard for me to work and play football, but I knew I had to do it. I had a family to take care and school to do well in. So I was not focused so much on how hard it was, but just that I had to do it.”
AIC hosts Merrimack tomorrow and James wants to finish the remaining games on a high note.
“This year we haven’t been doing as good. We’ve lost three games already,” he said. “It’s been unfortunate. It just didn’t come together for us.”