Feldkamp, Jonathan ‘JT’

 

Jonathan “JT” Feldkamp

Jonathan “J.T.” Feldkamp was a tremendous all-around athlete at Lorain Admiral King, earning seven Varsity Letters – three Football, two Basketball and two Baseball, while excelling academically. He graduated 15th in his class, was elected to National Honor Society, and selected for Buckeye Boys State. He also received The LSHOF J. Ed Uland Scholarship Award in 2007.

In football, he was a three-year starter at Defensive End. In his junior and senior campaigns, he played both ways, starting at Defensive End, Tight End and emergency Left Tackle. As a senior, he was a Team Captain. He was named 1st Team All Lorain County in 2005 and 2006, 1st Team All Lake Erie League, 2nd team All Northeast District, and Honorable Mention for the Lorain County Golden Helmet Award. His coaches named him both the team’s Most Outstanding Offensive and Defensive Lineman. Head Coach Mark Campo said, “J.T. was our most valuable player. He controlled both sides of the line of scrimmage and was dominant!” More importantly J.T. helped lead the 2006 Admirals to their first conference championship in 20 years.

In basketball J.T. was a two-year starter known as a vital defender and a tenacious rebounder. Listed on the roster at 6’4”, he was actually only 6″1”. He still managed to outrebound most of his much taller opponents and control the paint defensively. His defense, physicality and rebounding ability earned him multiple WEOL “War in the Paint” awards.

It was in baseball, playing under Head Coaches Dan Ransom and John Akosi, where J.T. Feldkamp truly left his mark. He was one of the best ever to play baseball at Admiral King. He was a two-year starting catcher with a strong arm and exceptional hitting ability. As a Team Captain in his 2006 junior year, J.T. led the team in Home Runs and had a .365 Batting Average, 31 hits and 25 RBI. He was named 1st Team All Lake Erie League, 1st Team All District and 2nd Team All County. J.T. had an even more outstanding senior season in 2007. He led the team with a .492 Batting Average, 6 doubles, 26 RBI, .624 OB% and .646 SLG%, walking 21 times with only 5 strikeouts.

Defensively J.T. threw out 19 of 25 base runners attempting to steal. He led the Admirals to the LEL Championship at 11-0 and overall record of 22-4, setting a school record for wins in a season. He was selected 1st Team All Lake Erie League and LEL Player of the Year, 1st Team All Lorain County, 1st Team All Morning Journal, Lorain County Division I Player of the Year and became the first player from any Lorain City School to receive the Lorain County Mr. Baseball Award. The year culminated in J.T. being named to the OHSBCA Mizuno All-Ohio Team.

J.T. chose to play college baseball at perennial Division II powerhouse Ohio Dominican University for legendary College Baseball Hall of Fame Coach Paul Page. He made the varsity squad his freshman year as a back-up and in 2009 won the starting catcher position becoming a three-year starter. In 2009 J.T. started 49 games, hitting .316 with 43 hits, 7 doubles, and 26 RBI. His 6 HRs, 515 SLG%, .469 OB% and 27 walks all ranked second best on the team. The following year in 2010, J.T. had 12 doubles and 35 RBI, both second on the team. He hit .321 with 50 hits and 3 HRs. In his 2011 senior season, J.T. was limited to just 29 games due to an ankle injury. Despite the setback, he hit .313 with 26 hits, 2 HR and 20 RBI and was named 2nd Team All Conference in the NCAA Division II GLIAC. In his career at Ohio Dominican, J.T. made 123 starts and was a .316 lifetime hitter with 81 RBIs,
11 HRs, 119 hits and 29 doubles.

ODU Head Coach Paul Page wrote, “More than most, J.T. was determined and always gave more than others. As a freshman he was a member of a World Series team and his contributions made a difference … Although J.T. was an amazing player, his greatest attributes were not the talents he displayed physically on the field. J.T. was a tireless worker and an amazing teammate. As a coach we are blessed with the opportunity to coach many quality young men. Some of these young men you are happy to coach, others you love to coach and still others you are blessed to coach.

I count J.T. firmly in the last group. During his time at ODU, J.T. was our best leader, who put the team above the individual and showed tremendous character …”

After graduating in 2011, J.T. coached at ODU for two years while earning his Master’s Degree and met Karie who is now his beautiful wife. Currently, J.T. is Lorain County’s Chief Probation Officer and credits much of his success to team sports and lessons learned on the field from his many coaches and teammates. He remains active in the community as a Trustee for the BPOE Lorain Elks Lodge 1301 where he helps to coordinate youth programs.