By Matt Goisman
Cape Cod Times
October 20, 2016
Tim Jordan does a little bit of everything for the St. John Paul II Lions football team.
He’s a dynamic receiver, able to catch passes and break off big runs after the catch, and he has proven to be just as explosive as a running back.
In last week’s win over Lowell Catholic, Jordan had five catches for 139 yards and a pair of touchdowns, and 13 carries for 157 yards.
But Jordan’s versatility goes way beyond that. He’s been a cornerback, free safety and linebacker on defense, and is one of the Lions’ main kick returners, having already returned both a kickoff and punt for a touchdown this season.
“He’s the epitome of versatility,” SJP II coach Mike Delaney said. “He’s only held back my own lack of imagination.”
Jordan, a 17-year-old senior, grew up in Sandwich and now lives in Centerville. He attended Sandwich’s Wing School through the eighth grade, then came to SJP II as a freshman.
He’s not the first Jordan to attend SJP II. His older brother, Chris, played football and basketball for the Lions, and Jordan said Chris’ time there helped motivate him to attend.
“I went to every home game, some of their away games,” Jordan said. “He was good. He was very good.”
Tim Jordan is the youngest of eight children, his brother Craig being the oldest at 33. He played a wide array of sports growing up, at one point trying out baseball and soccer in addition to football, basketball and lacrosse, his three varsity sports at SJP.
Basketball came first among his varsity trio, when he was in third grade. Lacrosse came a year later, though he’d take two years off from that to try baseball before returning permanently to it in sixth grade, and Sandwich Pop Warner football began in fifth grade.
With three brothers and four sisters, family games began much earlier than that.
“We had a big yard at my house in Sandwich, and we’d always be playing whiffle ball or football,” Jordan said. “They’re all older than me, so I’d be playing with the older kids, getting beat up.”
Jordan started getting into varsity games as early as his freshman year, usually going in at quarterback to finish blowouts, even completing a touchdown pass. An injury to a cornerback allowed him to get his first start as a freshman against Lowell Catholic, and by his sophomore year he’d become a varsity mainstay.
“You knew right away, you knew you had something special,” Delaney said. “It was like watching a miniature Doug Flutie (former Boston College quarterback) in the JV games. He was a dynamic player even as a freshman.”
Jordan earned league all-star honors in all three of his sports as a junior, including lacrosse, which he also played with Team Cape Cod over the summer. He said putting in extra hours in the weight room during lacrosse season made it easier to transition to football in the fall.
That extra strength training seems to have paid off. He has 14 touchdowns this season, including one off an interception, and through six games has amassed over 1,000 all-purpose yards.
“I just want to do whatever they tell me to do, whatever they think can help us win,” Jordan said. “I’m really enjoying football now.”
Two more high school seasons remain for Jordan during the 2016-17 school year, and college could continue his career. Jordan said he’s in talks with Hood College’s lacrosse team in Maryland, and over the summer attended a football prospects camp with teammate Keith Campbell at Williams College in western Massachusetts.
If he doesn’t end up earning an athletic scholarship, the University of Central Florida is high up on Jordan’s list. He has family in the Orlando area, he said, and UCF has a good marketing program, which is his intended major.
“My first job was at the Sandwich Boardwalk for this guy, Justin Aldrich,” Jordan said. “He started his own company called ECOTourz. … I worked him for a few years into his business, so I watched him really build his business, let it grow, and that was always cool. I learned how to deal with people.”
When he’s not playing sports, Jordan enjoys spending time with his family, which now includes several nieces and nephews. He’s a frequent church-goer, first at Corpus Christi Parish in East Sandwich and now at Our Lady of Victory in Centerville.
Jordan is part of SJP’s campus ministry and international buddies programs. The latter helps SJP II’s international students integrate into campus life, while the ministry program includes serving as a retreat leader, which he’s been interested in since listening to another retreat leader speak during Jordan’s freshman year.
“It was about recognizing your gifts,” Jordan said.
Jordan also does landscaping at Earl of Sandwich Motel in East Sandwich.