Football, Ice Hockey, Baseball
Favorite athlete: Deion Sanders
Favorite team: Philadelphia Eagles
Favorite memory competing in sports: My favorite memory from competing in sports was my catch at the end of the second quarter against Pennsbury. Why I loved the catch so much was because I gave everything I had left in the tank that last drive before halftime and it paid off. It brought us back into the game and gave us the momentum going into the second half.
Music on playlist: Classical music for before games, Drake on the regular
Future plans: I want to work on Wall Street as a day trader, then dabble withreal estate.
Words to live by: “Let it all work out.”
One goal before turning 30: Make a living day trading.
One thing people don’t know about me: Is that I'm a 3x mathlete.
By GORDON GLANTZ
If you would want to peg Council Rock South’s three-sport athlete Jake Maurer as “just another jock,” some hard facts would come in the way of that stereotype.
The son of John and Stacy Maurer is also a member of the National Honor Society, Latin Honor Society and Math Honor Society.
And, in addition playing his three sports – football, ice hockey and baseball – he goes against type and is just as proud of being a three-year member of the Golden Hawks’ Mathletes team.
“He is a three-sport athlete that wakes up early every morning to work out before school,” said football coach C.J. Szydlik. “He is that type of kid.”
Maurer, with his 4.2 GPA, plans to continue playing football at Moravian, where he will major in applied mathematics.
“I went with Moravian, and I think it’s a good fit,” he said. “They have a new coaching staff the last two years. They are really on the upswing. They just had one of their best seasons last year. They are really trying to build something at Moravian, and I’m all for it.”
On the Grid
The fact that Maurer will be playing football at the collegiate level is a story within itself.
While he has been playing both ice hockey and baseball since around the age of five, football was relegated to tossing it around with his father.
Maurer dabbled in it, playing a bit in a flag football league and some tackle football in middle school, but he thought he had given up the game for good by high school.
Then, with a groundswell of support, he was presented to head coach Szydlik as an “athlete” who could add juice to the offense as a receiver.
By the end of his junior year, he was a key part of the offense.
A few games into his senior season, Maurer had a breakout game against Pennsbury, and he became the focal point of the passing game.
At that point, he came to a realization: Football, not baseball, was what he was going to pursue at the next level.
“In my junior year, I picked up tackle football and I fell in love with the sport,” said Maurer. “It’s a crazy turn of events. I thought I was going to play baseball in college. I was at football practice one time, and me and my DBs coach were going at it, just some trash talk, and he was, like, ‘I can’t believe this kid wants to play baseball in college.’
“I went home that day and told my parents that I just truly love the sport of football a lot more than baseball, and I would just rather play football for another four years.”
There is just something about the sport that Maurer can’t exactly pinpoint but that keeps him coming back for more.
“It’s like you go to war every game,” he said. “For baseball, it’s harder to always get yourself up for the game. There is something about football. You don’t have to get excited for the game. The game of football just gets you excited, every single Friday. You wait for it all week.
“I always had a little bit of a passion for football. I always had a natural ability to catch the ball.”
What makes it all more compelling was that nothing was handed to Maurer.
“I definitely had to ease into it,” he said. “The more I was able to prove myself in practice, the more they knew I had the ability to catch the ball and to make plays.”
Maurer was more than just an impact player on the gridiron. He was elected captain by his teammates for his leadership skills off the field.
“Having the other kids elect me as a captain, it really meant a lot to me,” he said. “I was someone they looked up to. It was great having that position. I’m more of a lead-by-example guy, but if I need to get on them, I’ll get on them. I think a lot of the kids appreciate what I did for that team.”
Ditto for the coaching staff. Just ask Szydlik.
“He is a great leader,” he said. “He knows when to speak up and knows when to lead by example. He can talk to the coaches like a gentleman and be receptive to their responses.
“Fortunately, for us, we have a strong group coming back next year with some really good leadership. Jake was a big part of that foundation.”
Head First
Just because he is moving on to play football does not mean Maurer is giving any less than his all this spring for what will be his final scholastic sports season.
Head baseball coach Greg Paprocki says Maurer has a clear role as a senior left fielder who bats anywhere from sixth to eighth in the order.
“We don’t name captains, but he is certainly one of our leaders,” said Paprocki. “He is a tremendous vocal leader, along with being a great example for our underclassmen that try to replicate what Jake brought to the program.”
Aside from what he brings between the lines, Paprocki is most impressed with Maurer as a total person
“Jake has been a joy to be around the last four years,” said Paprocki. “He is truly one of the most impressive young men I have ever been around.
“Jake is the full package. He is driven, a great student, great athlete and, above all, a great person.”
That carries over to a relentless style of play on the diamond.
“On the field, Jake is a gritty player and natural leader,” said Paprocki. “He plays all out, 110 percent of the time.
“That gritty attitude goes away beyond the field. He takes pride in everything he does. Jake is a three-sport athlete and manages to excel in the classroom at the same time.
“I am extremely fortunate to be able to coach kids like Jake. He has grown into such a great young man. He will be successful with whatever he decides to do in life.”
More Leadership
Maurer was on some top-notch ice hockey teams for the Golden Hawks, a team that fell just short of their dream of a state title (he was not even aware that rival North
Penn, which eliminated CR South from the postseason, went on to win the state title).
His role as a co-captain was a bit different for the talented hockey team.
“The main part of that was really just keeping everyone’s head together and keeping everyone calm,” he said, citing a Flyers Cup game where Rock South trailed Boyertown, 3-0, and rallied for a 5-3 win. “You just have to keep the team levelheaded and not get too high or too low.”
Hockey is not an official P.I.A.A. sport and the season overlaps into both football, which ends around Halloween, and definitely into baseball at the back end.
“I think I was very blessed to play on a very good hockey team, and the kids around me were also very good,” said Maurer, a defenseman. “It bled a little bit into baseball season, but my baseball coaches definitely understood the mission at hand and that we were on a states run. We were on a states run the last three years of my high school career. We didn’t get it, but it was nice having the support of my baseball coaches. They let me miss practice for a day or two.”
Taking the Hits
Although he physically prepares himself as much possible, Maurer has endured the aches and pains and bumps and bruises that come along with being a three-sport athlete.
“Basically, for my body, it’s a little bit of a struggle,” said Maurer, who finished his senior football season with a broken hand but still intercepted a pass – against rival Council Rock North -- after being moved to defensive back. “It has definitely taken a toll. You just have to take it day by day.”
Maurer added that the toughest overlap for him was probably when football was ending toward the end and hockey was starting up.
“I would go from four-hour football practice to hockey practice,” said Maurer, who said he could see himself playing in adult hockey leagues for a long time. “It can be a little exhausting, but it’s all worth it.”
That same approach applies to how Maurer deals with the classroom.
“I feel that how you do one thing is how you should do everything,” he said. “I feel that applies from academics to sports. I put a lot of work into my sports, and I put a lot of work into my academics.”
As for those who supported him most, Maurer has his priorities in order.
“I always want to start off with God,” he said. “He is an integral part of my life. I talk to him every day and He guides me in everything that I do.
“And then, there are my parents. They have supported me through all my ups and downs in my crazy athletic career. They have supported me through the highs and lows.”
He also knows he owes a debt of gratitude to his teammates and coaches, especially Szydlik.
“He was huge help in just giving me the opportunity,” said Maurer. “I never heard of anybody who never played real competitive football beforehand getting an opportunity to play varsity. That’s not just putting the jersey on but getting the minutes and getting catches and standing out. Just a huge thanks goes out to Coach C.J.”
For Szydlik, the pleasure has been all his, saying: “Jake is the epitome of what a student-athlete strives to be.”
