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As Indian River drove downfield, Garret Decker heard his quarterback call “Houston.” He was an offensive guard, and he knew the play call indicated a run to his left against the Christian Brothers Academy defense.

Decker pulled in that direction, and after finishing his block, he got up with a numb left shoulder. He initially thought it was just a stinger, but he felt pain for the rest of the game. He didn’t miss a play until Indian River established a comfortable lead in the fourth quarter en route to a 59-20 victory.   

He played through that pain for six more games. An MRI after the season revealed a full tear of the back portion of Decker’s labrum. The injury required surgery, and a six month rehabilitation followed. 

“It definitely taught me patience,” Decker said.   

Despite playing through a serious injury, Decker, then a junior, was an All-State selection for his second consecutive season. Indian River finished the season with a 7-2 record and advanced to the Class A Sectional semifinals before falling in a double overtime loss to Auburn. Decker played in all nine games.

Now a senior, Decker has since been cleared to play and has committed to Division III SUNY Cortland for next year. Though the high school season was delayed until March 1 due to the coronavirus pandemic, Decker said Indian River’s goal remains the same: win their second Section III championship in the past three years.

The day after his injury, Decker went to the doctor. He knew something was wrong, but he didn’t know what. It wasn’t until the end of the season that the MRI scan revealed his labrum injury and Decker had the ensuing surgery. 

The recovery process, which began during the offseason, was tedious for Decker. He itched to be working with his teammates in the weight room. But for the first two months of rehabilitation, he wasn’t allowed to move his arm, instead relying on his physical therapist to motion him through exercises. The next two months, he did the movements by himself. By the fifth month, he was doing push-ups and machine work. 

From a young age, Decker was a physical presence on the football field, which Indian River assistant coach John Murtha noticed right away. Murtha, who’s coached with the Warriors for over two decades, followed Decker’s career from modified football all the way up to varsity. 

“Even as a young kid, he was dominant,” Murtha said. “Kids on other teams would be visibly nervous.”

Growing up, Decker used to watch Indian River football every Friday night in the fall. He dreamt of being on the team and even attended all the Indian River youth football camps in the summer, he said. 

“He always had a vision to play at a very high level,” head coach Cory Marsell said.

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When Decker plays for Indian River, that vision means he’s like “an offensive line coach on the field,” Murtha said. After being cleared to play exactly on-schedule, Decker went back to work during the extended offseason. He has group chats with every position group on the team to keep up with teammates. 

Decker’s using the extra time to “get in as much work as possible” so Indian River will be in better shape than everyone else when the season comes around.

“If I’m not working, nobody’s going to work,” Decker said.

Published on November 2, 2020 at 9:41 pm

Contact Jake: jnelso11@syr.edu