 (Photo by Bill Allen/NJ SportAction) caption: |
When Jon Dekker joined the Princeton University football program in the fall of 2002, he thought he knew all about hard work.
After all, the 6'4, 250-pound tight end had been an achiever on and off the field at the Thomas More High School in the Milwaukee, Wisc. area.
Dekker earned all-state, all-region, and all-conference honors in football at Thomas More as well as making all-conference in basketball his last two seasons. He was a two-time captain in both sports.
In the classroom, he garnered a slew of honors, including the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Student Achiever award, the Army Reserve Scholar Athlete Award, and his school's Brady Scholar Athlete award.
But once Dekker got to New Jersey, he learned he had to take things to a higher level. "I saw guys like Joe Weiss and Tim Kirby and how hard they worked," said Dekker. "I was self-motivated but I realized how much work it took discipline-wise to do everything possible to be better. Princeton gave me an extra discipline."
Applying that discipline, Dekker worked himself into all an All-Ivy League tight end by his senior season as he made 32 catches and scored four touchdowns to help the Tigers go 7-3.
This week, Dekker will take things to an even high level as he starts training camp with the world champion Pittsburgh Steelers at St. Vincent College in Latrobe, Pa., looking to earn a spot on the team's roster.
In looking forward to his upcoming battle to make the Steelers, Dekker knows he will need to utilize the discipline he learned at Princeton.
"It is very intense, the toughest challenge for me is that I'm playing tight end and H-back," said Dekker, who was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Steelers this past April. "They throw a lot of stuff at you; the terminology is different, it's like learning a new language."
In getting ready for the NFL, Dekker is utilizing the approach he used to get ready for his senior year at PU.
"I feel really focused," asserted Dekker, who is lifting weights four times a week and is running three-to-five times a week, throwing in agility and sprint drills in with distance work. "That's how I felt going into my senior year. I feel I didn't play my best junior year and neither did the team. I worked really hard to get ready."
The hard work Dekker put in last summer certainly paid off as the team excelled and he became a bona fide NFL prospect.
"We went 7-3 and we hadn't done that in more than 10 years," recalled Dekker, who said that Princeton's wins last fall over Penn and Harvard, which broke nine-year losing streaks in both series, stand out as major highlights. "We made a statement and put Princeton football on the map again. Beating Harvard and Penn is something that a lot of guys hadn't done in their Princeton careers."
In Dekker's view, it was more than hard work that triggered Princeton's success last fall. "I really think there was a closeness on the team from the seniors down to the freshmen," said Dekker. "We had great team chemistry; I've played on a lot of teams and I've never been on a team so close."
That camaraderie started with the team's talented core of seniors. "I think as a class we were all playing for each other," said Dekker, whose classmates Ben Brielmaier and Jay McCareins are also in NFL camps this summer with Brielmaier looking to make the Cleveland Browns and McCareins shooting for a spot on the Arizona Cardinals.
"We knew how to pick each other up and we really enjoyed playing with each other. I enjoyed going to practice everyday; I looked forward to being with the guys."
Dekker plans to demonstrate to the Steelers coaches that he enjoys giving his all on the football field. "I'm nervous; you're not a vet any more, you're a rookie," said Dekker.
"I'm more excited than nervous; it's a great opportunity and I'll see what happens. I want to show them that I'm a hard worker and determined and hopefully I'll make the team."
With the extra discipline Dekker gained during his Princeton career, his work ethic should make an impression on the Steelers' coaching staff.
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