“Coaching youth sports has been a great experience for me,” says James Mattice, co-CIO of information technology and director of network technologies. “At the younger ages, it’s more about the kids having fun, so I’m always working on new games that allow them to learn and have fun at the same time.”  For example, Mattice says he applies the basketball drill “knockout” when coaching other sports. 

Mattice, a father of two, began coaching in Canton when his son Jacob started playing youth sports in 2004.  He coaches hockey, lacrosse, baseball and soccer and says he enjoys the fact that many of his former players ask to be on “whatever team” he is coaching.  A member of the Canton Pee Wee Association Board, he adds, “I like seeing the kids outside of sports and being able to have a nice conversation about how they are doing and what they are up to.”

Mattice is a lifelong North Country resident, having been born in Massena, NY, and raised in Canton.  A 1993 St. Lawrence graduate, where he was a mathematics-computer science and economics double major, he says his future wife, classmate Shannon O’Malley, “was from the Albany, NY, area, but fell in love with the North Country while at St. Lawrence.  We both had good career opportunities after graduating,” he explains, adding that Shannon is a guidance counselor in a nearby school system.  “Now that we have two kids, we are very happy with our decision to stay in the North Country.”