John played professional football in the NFL/CFL for 12 seasons and is a father of 11 wonderful children with his incredible wife Catherine. He's not only known for his large family and his dynamic presence on the football field, but also his strong faith, his work in the community, his Pro-Life witness, along his work to help restore human dignity as Director of Prison Ministry, and for his work as an advocate for others living with Type 1 Diabetes (a condition he’s overcome daily since he was 14). Throughout that 12-year career and ongoing, John's been featured in countless articles, TV, radio, Podcasts, EWTN On-Demand, men’s conferences, business conferences, University and High School retreats, and Parishes, for his dominant presence on the field while raising his large family, maintaining his faith through countless obstacles, and more recently from his courses and books where he teaches Christ-centered principles in personal development and servant leadership as they relate to being purpose-driven, purposefully Catholic, and intentionally virtuous. As the Director of Jail & Prison Ministry for the Diocese of St. Augustine, Florida, where his highlight is his weekly visits with the men on Death Row, he reaches thousands of incarcerated men as he helps, with God’s Grace, to share the message of God’s mercy, healing, and Grace along with thousands through his social media presence.
John grew up in a devout Catholic home with a father who was active in ministry and the works of mercy. Although he thanks God for the gift of faith from a young age, in his pursuit of athletic goals and success he often found himself torn as he attempted to keep one foot in the church and one in the fast life and worldly culture of athletics (parties, excess, idolatry, women, pornography, explicit music, foul language, alcohol, & drugs).
At the age of 14, he received one his crosses being diagnosed with Type-1 Diabetes, an endless, relentless condition he's battled daily ever since. He earned a scholarship to Utah State University to play football and thanks God for meeting his virtuous, incredible wife and best friend, a convert to Catholicism, as a Freshman. John was married and had his firstborn of now 13 children, two of whom await them in heaven, by the time he was a Senior in college.
From there John was an undrafted free agent for the Houston Texans and found himself cut after his first training camp. He would go on to play 12 seasons professionally in both the NFL and CFL capturing the Grey Cup Championship twice in 2007 & 2013, a 3-time All-Star, Most Outstanding Defensive Player for the Canadian Football League, Twice he led the CFL in Quarterback Sacks, CFLPA Player Representative, Team Captain, and Ed Block Courage Award Winner for the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2012, playing for the Houston Texans, Saskatchewan Roughriders, Indianapolis Colts, Jacksonville Jaguars, Hamilton Tiger-Cats, and Edmonton Eskimos.
Throughout his career, John's ever-growing family would always reside with him during the season regardless of where their permanent residence was which was both an extreme blessing and hardship moving every 6 months to every couple of years. Besides Diabetes; John had poor eyesight, Bell's Palsy, 9 surgeries, several broken bones and torn ligaments, Vitiligo, and Alopecia as well as was cut 4 times, not resigned once, and traded once.
Through all his personal experience in a men's industry and seeing the battle that all the faithful people in his life struggled with to remain Christ-centered in their secular work, along with their many physical battles, John's passion for "Driving and Training the Body" (1 Cor 9:27), lead him to start his first business while still with the Saskatchewan Roughriders. JC CrossFit a training program for body, mind, and spirit that practiced monthly missions (works of mercy), a weekly virtue called the VOW, daily scripture called the VOD, and the Workout of the Day, the WOD, as an Active Prayer to focus on the work being greater than vanity, always initiated by prayer and leading into the inspired actions dedicated to intentions, greater than self, and as a way like singing, to glorify God in our body, praying times two.
Throughout his career, John made it a point to never miss Mass and frequented the confessional for the Grace he so desperately needed, while being a member of the Knights of Columbus. He was an active leader for Athletes-in-Action and spoke at two Grey Cup Prayer Breakfast AIA events. For most home games he would go and visit the sick with his brothers in AIA at the local hospital. He was a National spokesman for JDRF of Canada and Southern Saskatchewan, a National Spokesman for Medtronic Diabetes of Canada, a National Spokesman for SunLife Diabetes of Canada, and a spokesman for the Community Youth Challenge where he would speak to schools all over Saskatchewan on topics of anti-bullying, health & wellness, and safety. He was a spokesman at hundreds of local and national events and schools throughout Canada, Indianapolis, and Jacksonville as well as for Catholic Christian Outreach of Canada and Godsquad of Canada, and always gave a message of inspiration and hope with take-away actions.
John and his family were featured twice on TSN (Canada's ESPN), Faith in the Big Leagues, the Leader-Post, in the Canadian National Post, several Podcasts on Blessed2Play with Ron Meyer, EWTN On-Demand, Sports Leader; Stations of the Cross Workout and Challenge, and many more.
When he retired from playing football, John turned from an opportunity to be an assistant strength coach with the Jacksonville Jaguars where they reside, for a more stable life for his family, and started Irow-Will Fitness with the same principles and foundation as JC CrossFit, Christ-centeredness. Iron-Will is not a landing spot, but the virtue that has one always becoming who and what one was created to be and who and what one was created for; body, mind, and spirit.
In his work and pursuing monthly missions John and his family were asked to discern becoming full-time missionaries in Peru in 2019 with Catholic Family Missions before the world shut down in 2020 and after that heard his calling at Mass when there was a post-Mass announcement requesting volunteers for Prison Ministry. His first visit was to Florida State Prison, the highest-level security prison in Florida, and had his first incredible encounter with Jesus Christ, on his next visit to Florida's Death Row, John knew this was exactly where God had been preparing him to be and shortly after became the Director of Prison Ministry.
John's passions are his faith, his family, his friends, sharing the good news, and the works of mercy! John enters 2024 as a year of discernment for the Deaconate which will begin in 2025 for the class of 2030.
Speaking Topics:
Fatherhood: The First Vocation.
In the fast-paced and rapidly growing demands of the secular and materialistic world and executives, how does the Christian Father, remain eternally focused, and keep their relationships with God, their wife, & their children the priority, and still move the pendulum forward in both work and relationships?
Become Iron-Willed: The Virtue That Pursues All Virtue.
There's no landing spot on this side of heaven. The virtue that has one always becoming who and what one was created to be and who and what one was created for. Governed by prudence and rejoicing in our sufferings. Union with Christ who is fully God and fully man; body, mind, and spirit. To become undivided. To pick up our cross daily. To live a life of Active Prayer, mission, and impact. To live a purpose-driven life. Both self-mastery and complete surrender. Refining as by fire. Iron Sharpens Iron. His Will, not my will. How to become; on fire, fit, and free; body mind, and spirit. Including; goal setting, daily routines & planning, optimizing your environment, and daily examen and reflection.
Faith and Fitness:
Similar to Become Iron-Willed with the pursuit of fitness as the focus of the many mortifications and asceticisms to drive and train the body, mind, and spirit, to grow in virtue which combats our vice, and be better prepared for spiritual warfare, the prowling lion, the powers and the principalities. How to drive for greater intent in our work and keep it purpose-driven, with several ties to Theology of the Body; heightened senses, ordered desires, eternally destined. Prayer and Exercise; Stations of the Cross Workout, Rosary and Run, 12 Days of Christmas, etc.
Pro-Life:
Pro-life, not just pro-baby. Driving to the core and depth of our Pro-life principles from a biblical and TOB perspective and the dignity of all human life from conception to natural death that's been ransomed from a Cross we deserved. How to counteract the language of the pro-death culture and ways in which to practice and be witnesses of life in daily actionable ways.
Jail & Prison Ministry and the Death Penalty:
Visiting Jesus in prison. How we minister or should minister to the incarcerated, their families, re-entry, letter writing, developing parish teams, victims, etc.
What jail & prison ministry is and isn't. The biblical perspective and church teachings on the ministry. Who's qualified?
The death penalty is a pro-life issue. Jesus paid our death penalty.
Overcoming Diabetes:
Overcoming Obstacles and Carrying Your Cross:
Any Sports Banquet, Dinner, or Talk
I speak at formal or business events as an inspirational and motivational speaker as a sports celebrity, to lighter events that are more casual and need some laughter or lighter inspiration while still always tying in my faith in Jesus and the Christ-centered principles to get the most out of any individual, club, or to have an audience leave inspired to take action. I've spoken with or appeared at the same venues as Bobby Orr, Garth Brooks, and Georges St-Pierre, Pinball Clemmons, other NHL, MLB, among the many peers and colleagues I played with in the NFL and CFL.
Some Other Talks I Have Done:
- Let the Righteous Be Joyful: Where Do We Find True Happiness
- Rise Up CCO Conference: Interview Style
- Lenten Retreat Talk - Eucharistic Prayer #3 (May this Sacrifice of our reconciliation.....advance the peace and salvation of all the world
- Spiritual Warfare
- What is the Temple and How Do We Live in it?
- Overcoming Adversity
