The Jonathan Kleier ‘01 Leadership Endowment was established by our family in the fall of 2009 after the sudden and heartbreaking loss Jonathan Kleier. While a student at Horace Mann School, Jonathan was legendary in athletics. As the beloved captain of both the varsity football and lacrosse teams, he was an incredible competitor and fearless leader who commanded the respect of everyone around him. He never gave up – in the last game of the season senior year, he played the game as though he was fine, but when he walked off the football field, we saw that he had cracked ribs and torn ligaments in his leg. Known on the field as “Killer Kleier,” off the field he was a teddy bear, and equally as fierce and loyal in his friendships as he was in the game. Jonathan’s passion was infectious; so was his smile and his laugh, which you could recognize from
across a room. A teammate says, “without Jonathan, there would be no heart on the team.”The first Jonathan Kleier ’01 Leadership Endowment was awarded to Freddie Adler, an outstanding and remarkable student athlete who took great pride leading his teammates in three varsity sports. Most important to us, everyone who knows both Jonathan and Freddie say they are remarkably alike in personality, leadership and heart – and that he was a perfect recipient for the award, one who would make Jonathan proud.
During my senior year, Jon was my backup tailback on the football team. He was a sophomore. When our fullback, Michael Perlman, got injured, Jon moved in and became our starting fullback. It was great to run behind Jon because he loved to hit and would open up big holes for me to run through. He was always willing to sacrifice of himself for the team.
ReplyDeleteI already knew Jon from Winadu, but I got a much better sense of him during that senior year football season. The adjectives I would use to describe him are tenacious, focused and confident. He used to crack me up with his confidence and I used to give him a lot of crap about it. Even though I was having a great year, I believe he never had a doubt that he could be doing an even better job. I loved that about him. He was undersized, yet he willed himself to be an extremely effective player on our team. If I remember correctly, he always used to say that he'd be going to Penn to play football and lacrosse. I was going through the college process with baseball at the time, and I tried to explain how difficult it was to get attention from coaches and everything, but he remained completely secure in his path and his abilities. He utilized the power of positive thinking.
Jon was a guy that you wanted to go to battle with, and that's not a given at Horace Mann. He left everything he had on the field, believed deeply in the team and his commitment, and played above and beyond his natural abilities. He was a true competitor, a very sweet guy, and a friend. I'm so sorry for your loss. It's a loss for all of us. I think it's great that your family is working so hard to honor his memory and the things that he stood for. I coached the HM baseball team this spring and will possibly be an assistant with the football team in the fall. I hope there are still some Jon Kleier's out there to work with.
Thank you for everything you are doing. Let me know if there is anything I can ever do to help.
Take care,
Michael Pollak - HM Football #44
I was at HM graduation yesterday and have wanted to share my sentiments with you since the second I saw the Jonathan Kleier '01 Award in the program. Needless to say I was overwhelmed with emotions, but I cannot begin to tell you the smile that came across my face when I saw that one of my brother's closest friends Freddie Adler received the award. I'm not sure if you know Freddie or the Adlers or had any hand in selecting the recipient, but he is one of the most special and brightest kids in the HM graduating class (let alone that I know). Freddie has so many of the qualities that I associate with Jonathan- incredible kindness, athletism, confidence and warmth. I really can not imagine a better recipient of the first Jonathan Kleier '01 Award.
ReplyDeleteLove you,
Caline