ORLANDO, Fla. - Orlando Predators kicker Nick Jakelsky never thought he'd be here.
- Jakelsky playing first season professionally
- Played high school and semi-pro ball in New Jersey
- Firefighter for Lake Mary
"It’s crazy to be back in the swing of it thinking I’d never play again," he said at a recent practice. "Now I’m getting ready to play in front of thousands of fans."
He wasn't supposed to be here. He first came up with the idea of pursuing kicking after reading an article about future Hall of Famer Adam Vinatieri in eighth grade, and went on to play high school football and semi-professional ball while living in New Jersey before moving to Florida two years ago.
“I kind of gave it up, figured that it wasn’t going to go anywhere," he said. "Then when I heard the Predators were coming back, it’s a team that I’ve watched before, and I always wanted to play arena football.”
So he broke out the cleats, tried out, and made the team. Now he’s at Preds practice several times a week, kicking without uprights because they haven’t been built yet. That's commitment not lost on those around him.
“They love it because they see a guy that comes out to practice every day, however, before practice he’s servicing the community putting his life on the line,” head coach Doug Miller said.
And not everyone can say that.
“Out of all the jobs I’ve had, emergency services, firefighting is one where you can see your impact first hand,” Jakelsky said.
Jakelsky is a member of another team: the Lake Mary Fire Department. He said helping people is his primary goal in life.
“You can actually be the deciding factor whether somebody lives or dies. There’s just no other job that has that kind of reward,” he said.
In New Jersey, he was a volunteer, but picked up full-time status when he moved to Florida. Now he's balancing both the National Arena League and helping save lives.
“I know a lot of guys aspire to go to the NFL, and for a long time, I did too," he said. But this is my NFL."
So now, Jakelsky wears two uniforms, each with equal importance.
“Having my name on the back of the jacket representing a department like Lake Mary, which is an amazing departmen, is very important to me," he said. "It’s just like football. Walking in the locker room for our first game seeing your name on the back of the jerseys, you start getting goosebumps.”