Prep loses a giant in jack-of-all-trades Pederson
Charles Barkley was right. A few years ago, the former NBA All-Star boldly stated that professional athletes, in his case, basketball players, were not suited to be role models. Pro athletes shouldn’t be counted on to be looked up to, to be emulated, admired. He was right on the money.
The real role models are people like Jerome Pederson.
Jerome Pederson, known as "Gee" by his friends in the St. Peter’s Prep athletic family, was the truest of role models. He worked his way up from being a grammar school kid with a keen interest in sports all the way through high school and college, never once forgetting his never-ending allegiance to the Prep and to Prep athletics.
Pederson was a self-made success story, graduating from the Prep’s Higher Achievement Program to become a matriculating student and alumnus of the Prep. He went on to earn a degree in computer science from the New Jersey Institute of Technology, concentrating on computer design and analysis. He was involved with the athletic program since 1988, when he was still in grade school.
And through it all, Pederson was perhaps the most influential member of the athletic community at the school.
"When ever I introduced new students to our athletic staff, I would save him for last, telling those new kids that Gee was the most important part of our entire program," St. Peter’s head football coach and athletic director Rich Hansen said. "And I meant it. No one was more important to our entire program. No one."
That’s why it was so hard for Hansen to come to the grips that the Marauders had lost their most important figure. Pederson died Monday of a massive aneurysm, suffered while visiting a friend in Florida. He was only 27 years old.
"I can’t begin to put this into words," a saddened Hansen said. "Not only because of the things he had done for the program, because he did everything, but for the kind of person he was as well. There wasn’t a single aspect of our program that he wasn’t involved in. He was involved in the equipment, the athletic training, driving the vans. And he had such a profound effect on the kids. I can’t fathom the thought of going on effectively without him."
Added Hansen, "As a coach, as an athletic director, as a friend, he was irreplaceable. No task was too small and he never said no to anything. I can’t believe he’s gone. This really tests you."
Hansen had to inform the student body of the shocking news Monday morning.
"We assembled the kids in the cafeteria and some 300 strong from all the teams," Hansen said. "And every kid was moved. They were all devastated. It’s amazing how many people he touched. He transcended race and religion and broke down every barrier and loved everyone. Everyone has a Jerome story."
Basketball coach Joe Macchi was equally upset by Pederson’s passing.
"He was the nuts and bolts of the basketball program," Macchi said. "He was the guy who drove the van, the guy who had the gym ready, the guy who did the clock and kept score. If there were kids who needed to be taped, he was the one to do it. Coaches and players come and go, but guys like Gee you can’t replace."
Macchi was asked if there was one thing he would remember about Pederson.
"It was after we lost to Roselle Catholic [in the NJSIAA Parochial A North semifinals last week]," Macchi said. "We were in the locker room and everyone was upset, but Gee was his typical self, hugging everyone, saying everything would be okay."
Macchi had no idea that would be the last time he would see the foundation of the program.
"It’s almost too amazing to believe," Macchi said. "No one can believe it."
Hansen said that everyone has a story about Jerome, one that will make you remember him forever.
So do I.
In 1994, I watched in amazement the Marauders’ football team manhandle Ferris in the second game of the season, dismantling the Bulldogs in such an impressive fashion that I knew that this team could not be stopped all season. I knew there and then that they were the best high school team I had ever see play.
So I walked past Jerome on the Prep sidelines and boldly proclaimed to him, "If this team loses a game this year, then they should fire him [Hansen]."
Some 10 weeks later, the Marauders were facing Bergen Catholic, the No. 1-ranked team in the nation, in the NJSIAA Parochial A North championship game at Giants Stadium. With precisely 5:24 remaining in the game, the Marauders were holding a 26-7 lead.
Jerome found me standing on the sidelines, approached me and tapped me on the shoulder.
"I guess he gets to keep his job," Jerome said with a smile, as the Marauders went on to the victory that clinched the No. 1 ranking in the state and No. 5 in the nation.
Hansen kept his job for sure. Now, his job gets a little tougher, without the Gee-Man around.
Incredibly, the school keeps enduring tragedy after tragedy. When I was a student there, we lost three athletes to either cancer or illness while they were 15 years old. Also, a young man I totally adored, Jeff Kachel, died from Hodgkin’s Disease soon after his 19th birthday. The school’s best cross-country runner, Kyle Witkowski, was tragically killed in an auto accident three years ago.
And now, Jerome Pederson is gone, at the tender age of 27.
"I don’t remember one hurting as much as this one does," Hansen said. "We’ve had other people that I was close to pass on, but they were older men, so you can prepare for it more. But having someone so young and this respected? It really hits home."
Jerome Pederson will be laid to rest sometime next week, out of the church, the Upper Room Baptist Church in Newark, where he was a proud member of the gospel choir. Hopefully, St. Peter’s Prep will be able to help raise the money to give Pederson a proper send-off and do something to keep his memory alive.
"In so many aspects of his life, Gee was a role model," Hansen said. "It’s amazing. Everyone spends so much time searching for role models and we had a great one here right under our nose. We’re not realizing that until he’s gone."
If anyone wishes to donate money in honor of Jerome Pederson, please do so c/o The Jerome Pederson Fund, c/o St. Peter’s Prep, 144 Grand St., Jersey City, NJ, 07302.