As a linebacker for the Ottawa REDBLACKS, Ottawa native James Peter says he’s “extremely grateful” to be one of the rare CFL players with the opportunity to play high school, university, and – now – professional football in the city in which he grew up.
“I’m well aware of how blessed I truly am. I feel the support of everyone who’s supported me my whole career,” says Peter.
The 26-year old third-year player might be relatively new to pro football, but already has the grounding of a grizzled veteran. “I know I’ve got to put the work in. I feel a lot more weight on my shoulders because I’m from here, and therefore the standards are a lot higher,” he says, noting that he also feels responsible for providing his teammates with a local perspective of Ottawa culture and everything the city has to offer.
Giving back to local youth through football skills camps
Peter regularly gives back to the local community – not least because they helped him get to where he is today, noting that all players should have a support system as he did while rising through the ranks.
Peter’s annual Youth Football Skill Camp and Prospect Showcase, known as James Peter 7’s, or JP7’s, is open to boys and girls aged eight to 18 and took place this past April at Brewer Park.
“The whole JP7’s brand is about the community of people I’ve played football with, coaches I’ve had as a kid, those who have put extra time into me to provide everything I needed. The idea behind JP7’s is to give kids those same opportunities that I got that allowed me to be a professional now,” Peter says.
Besides technical football skills, JP7’s teaches participants about the mindset and culture of football, which in many ways boils down to teamwork.
“When things knock you down, and the score’s not on your side, it allows you to keep that relentlessness to help you be the team that wins at the end of the day. Football taught me a lot about brotherhood. We build bonds that we have forever,” says Peter.
The same applies to life lessons that JP7’s tries to impart among its many young participants to make them more well-rounded individuals, either in business or otherwise. “Life’s going to knock you down, but how do you respond? How do you respond to tough situations? It’s a mindset,” says Peter.
It’s easy to fall into negative thinking, he says. But when people think positively, it helps create more positive effects over time, he stresses.
A student of St. Mother Teresa High School and uOttawa
Peter says that from the moment he first began playing local football at the age of six, when he scored his first touchdown as a running back, he always envisioned himself playing professionally and strove to do so.
He credits the discipline, grit, and consistency developed while growing up and playing high school football with St. Mother Teresa High School and the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees with making him the player and person he is today.
“It translated to me being a type of player who is all about effort, all about running down the football field and making the person across from me feel my presence every moment [and on] every snap of the ball,” says Peter.
“I’m not really a ‘rah-rah’ guy,” he says with a smile. “But I think how I play says a lot about who I am.”
