Gerrit Mortensen is Northern Bound This Fall

Saint Ignace La Salle's Gerrit Mortensen emphasizes last season's district playoff game against Gaylord Saint Mary's as his greatest moment in a career filled with incredible athletic contests. "Down in Gaylord, bad weather, we were slow to start and came from two TD's behind and tied it up." As he describes it, "Then we're into overtime. They had the ball first and scored, were up by 7. We scored and then (I) talked with Coach Spencer, let's go for two. I scrambled to Cole Christiansen and he scored and won the game."

The list of Mortensen's athletic awards is extensive, but Athlete of the Year at the end of his senior year was his most important, personally. Reflecting on playing both basketball and football, Mortensen admits that between the two, he enjoys basketball best. "I worked hard at it my whole life, practicing since I was a little kid. I had to work at it more. Football, it's more natural (for me.) It's more of an instinct game. With basketball, (there's) more decisions."

As a result, his basketball coach earned the highest praise when I asked Gerrit to name his most influential coach. "Mr. Ingalls. He was really tough on me, really did it so I would be the best player possible. Knowledge from being a point guard, his knowledge in being there...He made me mentally tough!" Coach Ingalls has since moved over to team coach (with his wife, Doreen) the girl's basketball team, a group of talented young women who came up just shy of the State Championship in Triple OT last winter.

Matt Mortensen, Gerrit's father, stands as his son's longest-term motivation. He's instilled discipline, high standards, and an incredible work ethic in his son. "Dad...he's been always gone to the gym, helped re-bound, helped me figure out what was going wrong. He was my biggest critic, with lots of constructive criticism. Sometimes it was hard to take but again, it made me a better person. I can take a lot more, someone yelling at me. I can take anything now."

For the past dozen years, I've watched Matt at every practice, every game his son plays. He's always there to lend the coaches an extra hand and pick up the slack wherever needed. Standing by his side is his wife Pam, a wonderful cheerleader and enthusiastic, personable woman. "My mom she's at all my games, she's very supportive of me and whatever i do. and my brother (Dane,) too."

When asked about his status at Northern his first year, Gerrit admits, "I dunno if I'm red-shirting or not...I'm ready to go, do the whole college thing, get ready & try to be an impact there as QB." An outstanding, all-star ranked kicker, he's not sure about any additional duties. "(I'm) not sure yet. They wanna see me punt. They have a kicker." I also asked if what his longer term plans were, whether he'd think about moving to a larger college. Mortensen discounted this possibility immediately. "I'm staying there, I'm finishing there."

We also discussed academics. "I think I'll be okay, I'm starting off with a 14 credit block schedule, in sports science. I think I'll be fine ... I have 8:00 classes, all in the morning. Practices run 2 pm - 6 pm in the afternoons under head coach Bernie Anderson. "(I've) seen him quite a few times. My first visit was a game. I went up there and worked out. I've seen him at other sporting events, as an All Star." Gerrit played and was observed by Coach Anderson, who was obviously impressed. "I leave here August 10th, but we have meetings and stuff starting on the events."

Looking at colleges, Gerrit toured Michigan Technological University, which is even further up North in Houghton Michigan, at the base of the Keweenau Peninsula. He also considered Ferris State University, located down-state in the lower peninsula of Michigan. "But, my first visit was to Northern; I worked out with them, then went up to Michigan Tech. I called Northern and called Coach Wender a few weeks later & said I wanted to play football at Northern. I verbally committed, and got a National Order of Intent."

Gerrit chose Northern because they treated him "GREAT." He's emphatic in stating, "I like Northern. I liked the campus. It's not too close to home, and not too far. I'm used that area." Saint Ignace holds regular summer football camps at NMU's famous Superior Dome. Leading his high school football team, the Saints, into post season play during the last three seasons as their quarterback, some of those games were also played up at Northern. He added, "(They) made me feel comfortable. Gave me a chance to quarterback." The other universities wanted him to play, but couldn't guarantee a position.

Most everyone in the entire town of Saint Ignace, and many the surrounding townships eagerly await the next phase in the development of their local superstar. Many, like myself, hope to make the journey up to Northern Michigan to see Gerrit Mortensen excel at the next level. Although he's obviously a huge natural talent, the key to Mortensen's success involved years of continuous, consistent training and total dedication to his sport. None of us will forget the solid family support system, and the strong heart of this amazing young athlete who is quick to credit the others who made this story possible.

Quotes from Gerrit Mortensen transcribed on August 2, 2010 in Saint Ignace, Michigan.