Jason Leiby

NORTHWEST FOOTBALL LEAGUE
PLAYER SPOTLIGHT

player spotlight table of contents

December 2001

* Jason Leiby * 30 * 6'2" * 245 * #60 * center * Snohomish County Vikings *

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Rank: First Class Petty Officer (E-6)

Stationed: USS FORD (FFG-54)
Oliver Hazard Perry class guided missile frigate

Deployment: Persian Gulf in support of UN Sanctions against Iraq and Operation Enduring Freedom

high school: Canby Union, Oregon City

Played with the Canby varsity team in the playoffs as a sophomore. Earned Honorable Mention and 3rd Team All-League honors playing center and DE for Oregon City his junior and senior years.

college: Commitments to the Navy delayed entry program required him to pass up a chance to play at the College of the Redwoods in Eureka, CA

Nickname: Leibydog, Navy

Semi-Pro Experience: 4 years

1997 Pensacola Purple Haze (GCFL)
1998 Pensacola Purple Haze
1999 West Florida Predators (GCFL)
2000 Deployed in the Persian Gulf
2001 Snohomish County Vikings (NWFL)

Toughest Opponent: Oregon Thunderbolts

Most Memorable Moment: returning a fumbled punt for touchdown against the Eastside Chefs in the last game of the 2001 season. The fumble was ruled a "muff" so his 42 yard return was disallowed but he still got credit for the fumble recovery. "That's life but it felt great."

Viking center Jason Leiby (right).

Jason "Navy" Leiby arrived in the NWFL for the 2001 season via the US Navy when he was stationed at the Everett Naval Station aboard the guided missile frigate, USS Ford.
Despite playing in just 7 of 10 games due to Navy obligations, Leiby made quite an impression on Viking Head Coach Wes Fischer. "Jason is a tremendous guy. He was our starting center and long snapper, and he played a little bit of defensive tackle." In just his first year in the league Leiby was the starting center and long- snapper for the victorious North squad in the All-Star game.
Leiby is a Naval Electronic Warfare Technician (EW1). He has been in the Navy for over 12 years, and aboard the USS Ford for 2 1/2. He currently operates and repairs the radar detector and jammer and is also a member of the volunteer Vessel Boarding Search and Seizure team (VBSS). These teams enforce UN sanctions by boarding and searching the

Leiby is currently stationed aboard the guided missile frigate USS Ford in the Persian Gulf. US Navy Photo

ships going into and coming out of Iraq. He is part of both the compliant and non-compliant teams. Compliant boardings are when the ship cooperates and allows the VBSS team to board. The non-compliant ships are the ones that will not respond or stop, usually because they are smuggling illegal cargo. These ships must be boarded as they attempt to get away. "I enjoy this a great deal," Jason said about his involvement with the VBSS teams. "It is almost as fun as football."
Jason met his wife Jennifer in 1992 while stationed at Naval Station San Diego aboard the USS Fox. She was a surgical technician Balboa Naval Hospital. The couple married in 1994 at the Persideo Army Chapel in San Francisco.
Before coming to the Vikings, Leiby played 3 seasons in the Gulf Coast League while he was an electronic maintenance instructor at NTTC Corry Station in Pensacola, Florida. "The Vikings were one of the best teams I have played for. We had a great season. The Gulf Coast League was not

as organized or fun." While in Pensacola Jason also found time to attend Pensacola Junior College and earn a degree in Criminal Justice.

"I am hoping that world events will cool down and my deployment will end as planned so I can be there with the Vikings for the next season."