Following a physically demanding football season last fall and a grueling wrestling season immediately after it in the winter, Shawn Streck deserved some time off.
So how much time did he take?
“About two days,” he said.
After winning a state title in wrestling on Feb. 21, Merrillville’s two-sport star said he wasted little time in getting right back to the gym to prepare for his senior year.
“You just have to be smart about the way you train,” he said. “You can train hard for two or three weeks and then you can focus more on your technique for the next few weeks.”
Conversations with the hulking athlete are usually amicable, as Streck carries an easy-going, laid back demeanor. But underneath that affable layer is an endless reservoir of motivation that isn’t satisfied with All-State football nominations and his perfect 46-0 wrestling record at heavyweight last fall.
“I’m not No. 1 in football. Our teams haven’t won a state championship in wrestling or in football. We still haven’t reached all of the goals that we strive for,” he said. “Maybe if we do all of that, then I’ll take a week off.”
Perhaps that will happen this school year, as Merrillville is rated No. 2 in the Post-Tribune’s preseason football rankings.
Streck will be back for his fourth year on the Merrillville defensive line this fall, opening the season just six shy of John Ogiego’s school record of 25 career sacks. But for the first time in his career, Streck will have responsibilities on the other side of the ball.
This season, Streck will play center on the Pirates offense.
“He runs sprints with our skill-position guys and beats the majority of them,” first-year coach Brad Seiss said. “He just does not get tired. You see how much of a game-changer he is, and it just makes sense to have him on both sides of the ball.”
Streck’s move to the offensive line was made to help replenish a unit that lost all five of its 2014 starters to graduation. There will be some continuity behind Streck, with quarterback Demond Wilkins again handling snaps for the offense, though he’ll have to find new targets following the graduation of wide receivers Terrance Grayson and JR Robinson.
With several inexperienced players on offense, Streck and the rest of the Pirates defense will be crucial for Merrillville’s success in 2015. Along with Streck, Alfred Stubbs and Anthony Sams will again occupy spots in the Pirates’ front seven that carries the team into its defense of last year’s sectional championship.
Now that he’s playing on both sides of the ball, Seiss said that, in conversations with offensive line coach Joe Atria, Streck has been mentioned in the same sentences as former Merrillville players like brothers Dexter and Riley Larimore, who went on to play college football at Ohio State and Ball State, respectively.
“We haven’t had a whole lot of guys in the history of this program go both ways,” Seiss said of Streck. “He’s impressive. He’s a guy that you always notice.”
Dave Melton is a freelance writer for the Post-Tribune.
Countdown to kickoff
The Post-Tribune is counting down the Region’s top 10 teams between now and opening night on Friday.
10: Valparaiso
9: Hobart
8: Rensselaer
7: Munster
6: LaPorte
5: Chesterton
4: Crown Point
3: Lowell
2: Merrillville
1: Friday
