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+---- Thread: Journeyman Pt. 1 (/showthread.php?tid=2648)
Journeyman Pt. 1 - Bzerkap - 07-26-2017
[div align=\\\"center\\\"]Journeyman Pt. 1[/div]
[div align=\\\"center\\\"]About A Man Still Finding His Home[/div]
Today Jonathan Shaloiko finds himself in an uncomfortable but, lately familiar spot, on the trade block. Baltimore Player-GM Kurt Hendrix had only this to say, “Shaloiko is a great player and even greater person, but at this time we have a star in Cooper Christmas, and two young bucks in Matthew Vincent and John Baker. We just can’t afford to keep them all. The Hawks organization hopes to resolve this quickly for Jonathan’s sake.”
If he is traded quickly this will be his third team in as many months. The question then is, who is Jonathan Shaloiko? To answer that, we’re going to have to take a step back in time.
Shaloiko grew up young and carefree in the small town of Erie, PA. His father owns an automobile repair shop, where Jonathan would work in the summers, and his mother stays at home raising his brother and two sisters. A population of only 98,000, Shaloiko’s parents let him run around with his friends, only worrying about him coming home in time for dinner. It was an easy life on the coast of Lake Erie, a time that would shape Jonathan into the man and teammate he is today.
A simple life doesn’t lend itself to many standout moments, or character revealing episodes, but it does allow for a deep and methodical understanding of oneself. As Shaloiko put it “I may not be the loudest guy in the room, or have the most stories, but I know where I come from. I know who I value and I know who values me. That’s enough.” He values his time spent with his family, and heads home to visit them as often as possible. He helps his mom around the house and his father with his cars. Don’t confuse a simple life with the mundane though, there are still some inflection points in Jonathan’s life that served to steer him to the NSFL. Jonathan speaks of them with the heavy voice of a man still driven by the weight of their impact, but his face doesn’t show any emotion. A practiced response to be sure.
“I remember, I was about 11, maybe 12, I guess the exact age doesn’t matter, but hell we were young. Me and my friend, Eric, we had ridden our bikes out to the bay one day in the summer. The bay is Presque Isle Bay for those not from PA; Anyway, it was summer so we had no school, no responsibilities, we were just happy, ya know? Well we always rode out to the edge of the dock and looked at the island out there. We pretended that there was an evil scientist who lived on the island, conducting experiments on people and we always wanted to swim over and find his hidden mansion.” Jonathan laughs to himself. “Yea we were a bunch fools back then. My mom called us the terrible twosome, always getting up to no good. Well on this particular day, Eric decided he was gonna swim over there, he was tired of just wondering. I egged him on, he had said this before and always chickened out, this time it wouldn’t be any different. Well, it was. I guess he was just tired of me teasing him and he went for it. He jumped into that water, clothes on and everything, just going for it. I cheered him on, amazed that he was even doing it. He kept going, farther and farther, his body getting smaller and smaller. Then I couldn’t see him anymore, he was just gone. I panicked and told whoever I could find, Eric was gone, somewhere in the bay. Boats and helicopters were sent out looking for him and the cops took me home. Later that night my mother told me they found Eric. That was it. It took me a long time to recover from that but now I know how precious and short life is. I play for Eric every day, working past my limits.”
Jonathan took this with him as he went on to star at East High School. He was the starting quarterback and safety for his junior and senior years. Over those two years he threw for 5,385 yards, 55 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. He also ran for 2,493 yards and 20 touchdowns. On defense he had 160 tackles, 13 interceptions, 29 pass deflections, and 4 sacks. With the discipline instilled by his parents, he was also a straight A student. However, for everything he had overcome and all of the accolades he garnered, the big name schools weren’t breaking down his door to sign him. There was something his great athleticism couldn’t compensate for, he was short. He was only 5 feet 7 inches upon graduating high school, too short for the top level programs. Accepting an offer from the Duke Blue Devils, Shaloiko enrolled early in the spring. He was set to be a WR for the team and pursue a Chemical Engineering degree.
Shaloiko impressed during spring camp with his agility and intelligence. Head coach David Buckliffe opined “When he first came into camp this kid was so quick and intelligent. He ran the most precise routes and could cut on a dime. If you gave Jon an inch he was gonna be open.” For all his smarts and dedication though, he was still held back. “He was just too short.” Buckliffe recalled. “And he didn’t have enough speed to be an end-around or bubble screen guy. I didn’t know how to use him.” Shaloiko went home that summer to work at his father’s shop. When he returned Buckliffe didn’t even recognize him. “He looked so much bigger, and taller. It was amazing.” Shaloiko grew 3 inches. “I can work with five foot ten.”
Shaloiko did more than work with what was given to him, he thrived. He was used in the slot, split out wide, set in motion, anything that the team needed. He ended his 4 year career at Duke with 307 catches, 3,782 yards, 17 touchdowns, and 1 Chemical Engineering Degree.
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