Letter from Teammate

Friends:
When Jon’s sisters asked a few of his former teammates to write something about Jon, I imagine that there was a prevailing and consistent reaction. How can you describe the leadership that Jon brought to our team? I was at a loss for words. And then I read a story about Pat Tillman. Tillman’s former coach Dave McGinnis said the following: “I remember when he came to our team meal before played Seattle that weekend [in 2003], he just walked into the room and there was silence. The room was stunned. Everyone on that team respected him so much – and you’d have seen that respect if he went out and played again.”

That’s a lot what it was like to be Jon’s teammate. He walked into a room and instantly the room was silent because we knew what a fierce competitor he was. We knew how much he wanted to win and we didn’t want to let him down. For that, Jon commanded the respect of his teammates and friends. As I think about my own football career at Horace Mann, I am reminded that it would have been quite different without Jon:
• There would be no trips down the hill as we snuck away from the two-a-day practices in the summer
• There would be no rants from coach Colandros as he yelled at Jon during the Monday afternoon practices: “Come on Kleier, sweat out the weekend’s festivities!”
• There would be no league championship game against Dalton in 2000
• And worst of all, there would be no heart on the team

Everyone who played with Jon would invariably agree on one simple fact. He was always someone you wanted on your team. Jon, we’ll all miss you. And we all thank you for the ways that you bettered our lives: in the classroom, in the cafeteria and, most of all, on the field.