Playing the saxophone in high school helped Jason Kelce become a Hall of Fame-caliber football player

His work ethic in music translated to the gridiron.

Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce plays his saxophone with the Avalon String Band during the Mummers Parade on Main Street in Manayunk section of Philadelphia, February 25, 2018. Avi Steinhardt / For the Philadelphia Inquirer Read more

Updated Feb. 10, 2023, 5:46 p.m. ET

Published Feb. 10, 2023, 2:29 p.m. ET

Jason Kelce spent his Monday nights as a teenager at Academy Music, a neighborhood music shop not far from his high school in Cleveland Heights, Ohio. He started playing the saxophone in the fourth grade and wasn’t content with just knowing the basics. So he sat with Dave Sterner for $15 lessons in a studio attached to the store.

Years later, Kelce transformed himself from a high-school linebacker without a college scholarship to a Hall of Fame-caliber center. First, he applied that work ethic to the baritone sax.

“He was pretty damn good,” said Academy Music owner Tom Ianni. “He really worked at the sax. He would just come in and practice.”

Kelce played football, hockey, and lacrosse at Cleveland Heights High School, yet somehow found time to play in the school’s band. He was good enough to make the jazz band as a freshman and spent his final three years in the top wind ensemble. Kelce said his parents, Ed and Donna, wanted their sons to be involved in as many things as possible. So he kept playing his sax.

The band wore tuxedos, played concerts at school, took the stage at local jazz festivals, and traveled to other cities during spring break. Kelce loved playing and it helped with his football career.

“I consider a lot of my growth as a player and as a person happened learning the saxophone: being coached by conductors and teachers, reading sheet music and understanding how to practice by repeating the same thing over and over again and you see how much easier the song becomes,” Kelce said. “If you want to see how very cut-and-dry, how practice can cause you to improve, play an instrument. There’s not going to be anything more cut-and-dry. The first time you play the piano, you’re going to be pretty freaking bad. You’ll get better pretty quick just by practicing. The value of practice and the value in putting in extra time, all of that was taught from music.”

Those values were obvious at the University of Cincinnati when Kelce became an all-conference offensive lineman after arriving on campus as a walk-on linebacker. And his work continued in the NFL as he became a six-time All-Pro after an inconsistent start to his career. It was also evident in high school as Kelce was one of the first football players on the field every morning.

“I was an early bird and you had to report at 5:45 in the morning,” said former Heights football coach Mike Jones. “We were on the field by 6 for special teams, and that’s a big part of the deal here. Jason was a short snapper and long snapper and he passed that along to his brother, Travis.”

“I consider a lot of my growth as a player and as a person happened learning the saxophone, being coached by conductors and teachers, reading sheet music and understanding how to practice by repeating the same thing over and over again and you see how much easier the song becomes.”
Jason Kelce

“He was a fired-up young man and very passionate young man. His teammates respected him and he didn’t accept mediocrity out of them.”

Jones worked with Brett Baker, the school’s music director, to make sure Kelce could play football and the sax. The school, like the Kelce parents, implored students to do as much as they could.

“He encouraged guys to play sports and band,” Kelce said of Baker. “I always felt like at Cleveland Heights that there wasn’t this separation between band and athletics. All of my best friends and the guys I hung out with, did both.”

“The band works hard and late hours,” Jones said. “It’s a heck of a commitment when you have to go to practice after you’re getting out of practice. He balanced his studies and he’s just a well-rounded person. What he did has helped him become the man that he is today. He was passionate about all those things and worked everything out.”

Kelce said Wednesday that he has no interest in pursuing a musical career when his football days are over. But he has kept up with his sax. He played the instrument with the Avalon String Band after dressing like a Mummer in the Super Bowl parade and played it again with the Philadelphia Orchestra at The Mann Center. The Christmas album he released last year with teammates topped the Billboard charts. Not bad for a kid who used to wander into Academy Music.

“What Jason represents is the idea that you don’t have to just do one thing,” Baker said. “I don’t expect him to be a professional-level performer in saxophone more than he would expect me to be a professional-level offensive lineman. But you can still enjoy music. You can still enjoy football. You can still enjoy whatever it is. He’s a worldly individual in a way.”

“He was always a fun guy. He knew when it was time to cut the tension with a joke or when it was OK to clown around a little bit. But it was like a light switch on the wall. ‘Boom. Let’s be serious.’ You can see that in him now. When it’s time to be serious, it’s time to be serious. That was a good trait that he’s always had.”

Kelce’s work on the football field has more than paid off as he’ll play Sunday against his brother, Chiefs tight end Travis, in the Super Bowl. It’s something the Kelces — both of whom went to college to play different positions before becoming two of the best to ever play their positions in the NFL — dreamed about.

Years earlier, he reaped the benefits of hard work when Baker selected him to play with the jazz band as a freshman. It was a big deal, Kelce said. It wasn’t the Super Bowl, but it helped lay the foundation for him to work his way there.

“Not too many freshmen had the chance to do that. I was a rookie playing with the varsity,” Kelce said. “It showed that he had a lot of confidence and trust in me. That he believed in me. That he valued me as a young person. It was an awesome moment. Not just for me in music aspirations but just as a young kid trying to gain self-confidence and self-worth and try to be validated by a role model and someone you look up to.”

The Eagles are one win away from their second championship. Join Inquirer Eagles writers EJ Smith, Josh Tolentino, Jeff McLane, Marcus Hayes and Mike Sielski on Gameday Central Sunday at 5 p.m. as they preview the game at inquirer.com/Eaglesgameday