Kate Decker may be small in stature, but she does not hesitate to speak her mind to hulking athletes who have NFL dreams.
All 5-foot-3, 108 pounds of her.
Decker is a sports performance coach who is based at Velocity Sports Performance in Cherry Hill. She is a rare woman in the field.
"In my own mind, I'm at least 6-11, 350, and I think that shows in my coaching," Decker said with a smile. "I get a lot of looks - until they see me coach."
A native of Wilkes-Barre, Decker has prepared more than 100 football players for the NFL Scouting Combine and other tryouts.
She graduated from Longwood University in Farmville, Va., in 1992 with a degree in psychology, which she uses in her duties as a sports performance coach. She also has earned certificates in strength and conditioning.
Former Eagles receiver Mike Quick, who observed Decker in action when he visited the facility with his son, left with a distinct impression of her.
"She's small in stature, but she's got juice," said Quick, now an analyst on Eagles radio broadcasts. "She had these 6-0, 6-1 guys who weighed 240, 275 pounds, and she's ordering them around, and just killing them."
As a schoolgirl, Decker was an athlete, participating in track and field, soccer, cheerleading, volleyball and cross-country. Eventually, she went into bodybuilding, competing in a state AAU contest in Virginia, where she grew up.
She said that exercise science was "something I always loved, and I studied everything I could about it."
Decker's husband, Tony, was tapped by new Temple football coach Al Golden for the position of head strength and conditioning coach for the Owls. Tony Decker has been in the business for 23 years, and his wife said she has a learned a lot from him.
"We talk probably 24/7 about reducing injuries, getting people stronger and getting people faster," Kate Decker said.
Kate Decker, who was hired by USA Track to work with its entry in the Penn Relays last month, spent last football season working for the Eagles as a medical and sports message therapist.
Her job was to help players recover from injury.
"Kate's a major asset to our team here," said Cary Huggard, co-owner of the Cherry Hill facility. "It's very impressive, the background she has, and the way she is able to inspire and motivate and look after these athletes is something. She will not let you push her around."
Eagles linebacker Mark Simoneau can attest to Decker's steadfastness.
