A few minutes with ...

FOXBOROUGH – Earlier this week, fourth-year safety James Sanders reflected on his youthful days in California and how he first discovered the game of football.

How did you get started in this game?
“Growing up in California, I would always play football in the backyard with my brothers and cousins and whatnot. I never played organized football until my cousin, who was more like a brother to me, actually came to me one day and said ‘Let’s go try out for the Pop Warner football team.’ I was 8 or 9 at the time, and I’ve been playing ball ever since.”

What position were you at that time?
“I played running back and cornerback. My first year, I didn’t play much at all. I was a kick returner and backup tailback, so I hardly ever got to see the field. The last game of the season I got my first career touchdown. That was cool.”

You’re smiling as you think back to those memories …
“It was simple back then. It’s a game that we play. Here, it’s a business. When we were young, we’d take it serious, but it was all for fun.”

What was it like growing up in Porterville, California? Were sports a big part of your life?
“Oh yeah. Sports and school, that’s all we did. My mother tried to keep us in line with our grades and everything. If we didn’t do well in school, we couldn’t play sports. I used to love playing basketball and football. I just loved being outside, running around with my friends. Sports was a big deal for me and my family.”

How did your mother keep you in line?
“If our grades weren’t good, she didn’t care how good we were or how important we were to the team, she’d pull us right out, in the middle of the season or not. We had to make sure we were on top of our stuff if we wanted to be part of the team, and that was for the whole year.”

You’re a dad now, so do you apply the same lessons to your kids, or is too early now?
“A little bit of both. My son [James Jr.] is 3 now. He understands a lot. At times, I might be a little hard on him. He’s just so smart, I just try to get him to absorb as much as possible, whether it’s little things like putting his puzzles together and stuff. I have fun doing things like with him. My daughter [Jordyn] is 1. It’s a joy to see them learn things and succeed in doing things. As they get older and smarter, you can see how much they learn in a short period of time. It’s amazing.”

When you’re not at Gillette Stadium, what do you like to do? What are some of your interests outside of football?
“A great day for me would be taking my kids to school, going out to have a nice lunch with my wife [Elysia]. Going to the movies. Then relaxing, and picking up the kids from school.”

What type of movie would you go see, and where would you go for lunch?
“We recently just watched ‘Righteous Kill’ with Robert De Niro and Al Pacino. It was all right. I was expecting a little bit more. It wasn’t too bad. We like the Hibachi Steakhouse, where they cook the food in front of you.”