Jon Kitna Tells Kids To Dream Big - And They Believe Him

During his middle school years, Jon Kitna’s romantic prospects rested on his future in professional sports.

The Tacoma native and NFL quarterback wasn’t necessarily the best athlete at his school. He wasn’t the tallest. He might not have been the quickest or brandished the strongest arm.

But what he did have was determination- the kind that convinces a person that any challenge is surmountable.

Call it a gritty confidence from a Grit City guy.

“My biggest line when I was in seventh and eighth grade,” Kitna told, “I used to tell girls, ‘You’re going to want to be with me, because someday I’m going to be a pro athlete, and I’m going to have a Lamborghini.’”

Kitna’s inner fire helped him succeed at the quarterback position at Lincoln High and Central Washington University, even though his heart initially was on the baseball diamond. It motivated him when, at first, he didn’t land a college scholarship for either sport. It kept him focused when he began his quarterback career in Ellensburg – on the 12th string.

“First day of practice,” he recounted, “they start handing out footballs, they get to me. They don’t have any left.”

Today – with an NAIA All-American college career and 15 NFL seasons behind him – Kitna shares his story with local youth.

He doesn’t do it to boast about how far he’s come or the places he’s been. Heck, he resides in the South Sound during the offseason and, as a father of four kids, doesn’t cruise Bridgeport Way West in that Lamborghini he used as dating bait.

Kitna shares his story of humble beginnings to convince/inspire/prove to kids here in the region that success is possible.

Is he Tom Brady or Peyton Manning? No.

Is he Jon Kitna from The 253, who fulfilled his dream of being a professional athlete? Absolutely.

— the UP native, former pitcher for the Mariners organization and baseball instructor who organized Wednesday’s camp – says Kitna’s pearls of inspiration have more meaning to local youth than other athletes.

A quick glance at Kitna’s stats page on the Dallas Cowboys website tells the story of a QB who has endured stints on four NFL teams, along with the punishment that comes with standing in the crosshairs of 300-pound defensive linemen.

(Click here to visit Kitna's stats page)

Numbers-wise – although he might not have collected the most wins for his teams – Kitna’s career is impressive simply for the hard-hat way he went about it.

I was especially drawn to one of the snippets listed toward the bottom of his stats page:

“Started a Christian-based ministry at Remann Hall in Tacoma, recruiting teammates to join him in spending time with the teenagers at the center.”

Kitna gets it. He understands how powerful his success story can be to kids in the Tacoma area. If he could, he’d tell every troubled kid in the region that success is possible with focus, however cliché that might sound.

“When I was your age, nobody couldn’t have told me I wasn’t going to be a professional athlete,” he told the group Wednesday.

So as the NFL seasons begin to mount, Kitna seems to have become all the wiser. I remember watching him play for the Seattle Seahawks, showing flashes of both a quarterback ready for primetime and one who wasn’t ready for the big time.

But what I and countless other fans might not realize is the mountain Kitna climbed just to reach the NFL.

As for the Lamborghini, Kitna says he can afford one but opted against buying it.

“It’s not very practical,” he says.

Still, I bet you those girls back in middle school are kicking themselves for not accepting his offer.