Perkins, Jeff

Jeff Perkins

It is said that athletes are born or made. Jeff Perkins falls into both categories.

Jeff was fortunate to be born with athletic skills. He had coordination, speed, and strength. His most valuable attribute was his dedication, desire, and work ethic.

Coach Corey Cunningham once said of Jeff, “I have never seen an athlete with more passion and dedication than Perk. When he arrives at practice you can feel the intensity increase for everyone. I have tried to calm him down, and I can’t.”

Jeff made the most of his opportunities and always refused to be outworked by anyone. Growing up in Lorain had big influence on Jeff’s success, it gave him an edge that he used throughout his life.

Jeff was active in all sports growing up in South Lorain. He credits his early coaches for teaching him strong fundamentals and instilling in him
his love of sports. He played CYO Football and Basketball at St. John’s. While at St. John’s he made friendships that would last a lifetime. These friends were also very good athletes. They would all enroll at Southview High School and form the nucleus of the most successful period of
football in the school’s history.

Training was a year-round process for Jeff, Football season, Basketball season, Weight training, then start all over again. The weight training was never a chore for Jeff, it was something he enjoyed and realized he was pretty good at. He entered Powerlifting competitions for motivation and to help him train harder for football season. He won two state Powerlifting championships, the first one as a sophomore, he set two state records and won the lower weight class MVP. Jeff won another State Championship his Junior year and another MVP award. Jeff never lost a Powerlifting meet during his high school career. Jeff mixed in a few meets over the years and had a personal best 575 lb. squat, 340 lb. bench, and 600 lb. deadlift all at 181 lb. weight class.

During his Junior and Senior years at Southview High School playing inside linebacker, Jeff recorded 257 total tackles. Jeff tallied 25 tackles
against Lorain High his senior year, a game that ended in a tie; this marked the first time ever that Southview had not lost to Lorain High. He was twice named first team Erie Coast Conference at linebacker his junior and senior years.

Jeff began his Rugby playing career during his senior year at the University of Akron in April 1987 for the Akron Men’s Rugby Team. Speed and endurance are the name of this game, and sure tackling is at a premium. He quickly became a starter at wing for the prestigious Akron Men’s A-side. Jeff was practicing with some of best players and coaches in the Ohio/Midwest Region that summer. The summer Rugby 7’s season consisted mostly of pick-up games of Touch Rugby.

His first tournament early that summer was the Akron tournament at Akron Hoban High school. This was the start of big things for Jeff. Later that summer at the Ohio Rugby Championship in Dayton, Akron lost to the Dayton Rugby club but still qualified for the Midwest tournament for the first time in club history. On August 9, 1987, Akron Beat Nashville, Louisville, Middle Tennessee State, and Nashville again to secure an invitation to the National Club Championship in Milwaukee. Akron was in the final eight teams in the country that year.

Following the fine performances in the Ohio, Midwest, and National tournaments, Jeff was chosen to play on the National All Star Team playing wing for the Midwest (All Stars) in Tucson Arizona. The highlight of his weekend was scoring a 70-yard try against US National Team Player (US Eagle) Rory Lewis in a match against the East All Stars. Jeff was voted Rookie of the Year by the Akron team coaches following the 1987 season.

During his five seasons at Akron, Jeff made numerous appearances for the Ohio and Midwest Select sides. He won one Ohio Championship, three Midwest Championships and was a Midwest regional qualifier (Sweet 16) and three-time National Club Qualifier, all with the Akron Rugby Club. Akron Rugby finish fifth in the country in 1988.

The highlight of his rugby career was winning the Steinlager Midwest Rugby Tournament MVP on Aug. 5, 1989. The Midwest Region includes players from 12 states surrounding Ohio. At this tournament he scored two trys in all three preliminary matches beating Cleveland, Penn State, and Nashville by a combined score of 66-10. But he wasn’t finished, after trailing late in the final match to Louisville, Jeff scored the last two trys in the closing moments to win the match 12-10 and send Akron for the third straight year to the National Club Championship in Arlington, Virginia. Later that summer, Jeff was asked to attend a try-out for the US National Team, but he had to decline due to work commitments.

Jeff has worked at Nordson for 35 years; he is currently a Chief Electrical Engineer in the Industrial Coating Division. He has applied for and received 25 U.S. and International Patents for Industrial Application Equipment.

He has been married to Sharon for 31 years and has two children, Chad and Ally.