A year after tearing his ACL, the Storm's John Kaleo has found his passing touch.
By FRANK PASTOR
Published April 6, 2003
TAMPA - There is a difference in John Kaleo, Storm coach Tim Marcum said, and it isn't the quarterback's rebuilt knee or revamped supporting cast.
It's his passing touch.
"What I think he is doing right now is throwing the deep angle ball better than he ever has in his life," Marcum said. "Always, the knock on John was that he was a good three-step passer, (a good) passer on crossing routes but wasn't able to touch the ball up.
"He's doing that now."
Again and again and again.
Kaleo finessed passes to Lawrence Samuels, Clif Dell and Freddie Solomon during last week's 68-39 victory against Arizona and matched a personal and team high with eight touchdowns. In the process, he became only the seventh player in league history to throw for more than 20,000 yards.
Playing with what he calls the best offensive line and receiving corps he has been around, Kaleo ranks fourth in the league in passer rating (118.7), sixth in passing yards (264.2 per game) and seventh in touchdowns (45) through nine weeks. He is the driving force behind a Storm squad that has won six in a row and is first in the Southern division, one game ahead of Orlando and Georgia, which visits the St. Pete Times Forum at noon today.
"He's playing really well; not only on the field, but off the field in terms of putting together different ideas," Marcum said.
Kaleo's play is more remarkable considering he is playing on a surgically repaired knee. He tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee during the closing seconds of an opening-week loss to Toronto last year and missed the rest of the season.
Though he continues to wear a brace during practice, Kaleo, 32, said the knee feels fine.
"The hardest part was that I put a lot of work in the offseason into preparing myself to play football," Kaleo said. "I worked with a personal trainer six months out of the year lifting, running. And then to get hurt last year was kind of devastating because I planned on doing the things I'm doing this year last year."
Marcum said Kaleo, who is in his fourth year with the Storm, had to prove himself again in camp.
"Any time you're in a situation like that, it's, "Show me,"' Marcum said.
The knee injury was the second of Kaleo's 10-year career. It is that longevity, and not the milestones, which included his 300th touchdown pass this season, that make him most proud.
"When I first got into this league, and you ask all the guys that have played as long as I have, we never thought the Arena league would be around this long, let alone (we would) be playing this long," Kaleo said.
Kaleo said he plans to play for at least a few more years. Though he has a criminology degree and is involved in real estate during the offseason, he would prefer to work in the Arena league, either in a coaching or front office capacity, after his playing career.
"I've created a lot of bridges through playing Arena football," he said. "Really, this year was a tell-all year, seeing how the fan base would take Arena football on a major network.
"I think it's done well, so I would hate to kind of throw away all the connections and networking I've done over the years."
[Last modified April 6, 2003, 01:16:49]
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