Club football ambassador James Tait dedicates career to his grandfather

Daniel Park
Staff Writer

Ladies and gentlemen, do not be duped by the one-two combo of this man’s broad grin and friendly light brown eyes.

Because in the next two seconds and a blink of an eye, he will pick you up, drive your hopeless body into the grass, and guarantee, that sweet boyish-look you had imagined four seconds ago will forever be tainted. Eye contact might just be as painful as full contact, the main reason James Tait founded the first-ever club football team at VCU.

“I love that it’s a team sport that combines violence and strategic planning,” Tait said.

Born and bred in the neighborhoods of Richmond, Tait was raised on a foundation of football – a blueprint meticulously drawn out by his grandfather, Jim Tait. In 1974, Tait’s mentor and biggest influence coached at the University of Richmond.  After the Spiders won a championship in 1975, Jim was awarded the Southern Conference coach of the year later that year. Eventually, Jim was hired by Virginia Tech as an offensive coordinator.

Out of the 33 years Jim coached, his 23-year-old grandson was fortunate to douse himself in the deep wisdom the coach obtained from his tenure.

“Football has been a big part of my life since I was young,” James said.

All the memories of his deceased grandfather are now stored in the cheerful backyard of his childhood.

Jim would talk with James about football games and taught  him and his brother the mechanics of throwing the ball properly and discussing strategy and fundamentals of each position.

James brought his passion for football with him to VCU from Old Dominion, a school which celebrated its first year with an NCAA football team in its long 82 year history last fall. The fact that VCU didn’t have a football team, varsity or club, upset him enough to reach out to two of his James River High School teammates, Cole Ransom and Jules Charles.

“We knew each other personally, but weren’t the closest of friends. But once we started classes, we knew that we had to start a team here,” Tait said.

The three friends took nine long months to turn their dreams of bringing football to VCU into a reality.

James attributes most of his success forming the club to his grandfather, who suffered Alzheimer’s in the last years of his life. James said he knows his mentor would have been extremely proud if he only knew how much work he invested into the creation of the team. He also hopes to take up a football coaching opportunity later in life.

Prior to this season, the club football team was given a $500 donation from Jeff Cook, owner of Frontier Couriers, a cartage business located in Richmond. According to James, the team wouldn’t have a season this year without it.