Jaelynn Blecke: Football is my therapy

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Jaelynn Blecke

Jaelynn and his mother Hannah Blecke

The lights switch on with a sudden force. Senior Jaelynn Blecke gets ready to step on the field. Blecke squints as he looks up toward the crowd. Football more than just a game to Blecke; football is everything to him. Football has become a therapeutic release in his life.

“Family has encouraged me to do better, and they tell me to let football be your way to go to college and be successful,”  Blecke said

Blecke is a member of the DGS varsity football team and has been engaged in the sport since he was in kindergarten. Blecke is the oldest of four children in his family and is pushed hard by his mom to always be the best version of himself and to perform to the best of his ability.

Hannah Blecke, his mother, is always encouraging him to keep going and for Blecke to give his all no matter how tough a situation may get.

“You can’t quit. Once you start something got to finish no matter how hard it gets,” Hannah Blecke said.  

Jaelynn Blecke has been through many challenges on and off the field through his four years of high school. Some of those challenges involved his family and his school work.

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“My sophomore year one of my aunts died and that really impacted me in school, [this caused] my grades [to drop] my sophomore and junior year,”

Jaelynn Blecke said

According to Jaelynn Blecke, his sophomore and junior year were really tough for him. With the death of his loved ones, it was hard for him to concentrate in the classroom. Blecke believes football took away the pain that he was feeling inside, and became a positive outlet for his stress going on in his personal life.

“My grandma and my auntie passed my senior year, and it made me mad and had a bad impact on me, but my most recent aunt who died had dreams of me going to the NFL and loved watching me play football. She was the one who always talked to me and motivated me to stay on track,” Jaelynn Blecke said

With the loss of his loved ones, Jaelynn Blecke has been motivated to keep pushing through the  struggles life has thrown at him and he tells himself, “Work hard in silence, let your success be your noise.”

Jaelynn Blecke plans on going to play junior college football at College of Dupage for his first year to improve his grades and has hopes of transferring to a different University to play Division I football.

Jaelynn Blecke’s teammate senior Kenton Johnson said, “ Jaelynn works hard on the field, you can see how much he really loves playing football.”

Home games are played at 425 Fawell Blvd. Glen Ellyn, IL. Come out to see Jaelynn Blecke play.