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Persistent Belcik paces Girard

GIRARD — Unless you’re an athlete at Girard High School or really like ice cream, good luck catching up with Michael Belcik during the school year.

The senior plays three sports, works at Handel’s Homemade Ice Cream and owns a GPA above 3.0, so he’s a pretty busy man.

“I love the hard work,” Belcik said. “Sometimes after practice, I have to go home, shower and go right to work. I’m just a busy guy. I love working hard. That’s something I’ll always do.”

But that’s not the only reason Belcik is hard to catch.

The senior wide receiver, who Girard coach Pat Pearson said is one of the better wide-outs in the state, is arguably the fastest player on the team. His 40-yard dash time of 4.5 seconds is more impressive considering his 6-foot-1, 175-pound frame.

Speed wasn’t always his forte, Pearson said.

“Going into the spring of his sophomore year, he started running track and his speed started picking up. It was unbelievable how much faster he got,” Pearson said. “Then he just worked like crazy all summer, running routes, catching balls. The next part we saw was his route-running ability. This year it’s his hands — catching everything you throw at him. He looks like Odell Beckham out there, one-handing everything. He’s a special kid.”

He’s hoping for a special season for the Indians.

Girard is coming off back-to-back losing campaigns for the first time since the 2005-2006 seasons. Belcik is one of 26 returning lettermen on a team that looks loaded with talent. Belcik is the leading receiver, with 44 catches, 980 yards and 11 touchdowns in 2016, but he’s not just an offensive specialist.

He’s a two-year starter on defense as a corner, and as a wrestler, he has the toughness to make tackles and the speed to play well in coverage.

“When I was younger, people would always tell me wrestling is such a weird sport, but I tell people everyone should wrestle,” Belcik said. “It gets you in such good shape, it gives you strong hands, strong forearms — it really works every part of the body.

“It separates myself from others on the team, and I encourage others to wrestle because I know how much it helps me as a football player. Wrestling is probably if not even better than track at helping me in football.”

Football is indeed the main focus for Belcik, who is still fielding offers from different colleges.

If he gets a chance at the next level, it will likely come on offense. Aside from having one of the area’s best quarterbacks throwing to him in junior Mark Waid, Belcik’s all-around game makes him a threat on every play.

“His route-running ability, his speed, his hands, his understanding of coverages and where he fits in running his routes,” said Pearson of what makes Belcik so good. “He’s one of those guys that always seems like he’s open, and that’s because he understands the position, the craft.”

Belcik appreciates the praise and hopes he can live up to the hype, but that’s not what his main focus is this year.

College scholarships and gaudy statistics are nice, but getting the Indians back on track and into the postseason comes first. The only way to do that is to continue to lead a team that is talented but still young and unproven. That means Belcik has to step up in different ways, starting tonight as Girard hosts Niles at 7 in its season opener.

“Coming into this year, he was a 100-percent lead-by-example guy — not a lot of words and just run out and work,” Pearson said. “Being a senior this year, he’s growing into it. Even the last two weeks, we’ve seen him grow as a vocal leader. He’s starting to take some ownership, and it’s been fun to watch him grow as a young man.”

Pearson is one of the few people who has the chance to keep an eye on him.

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