From the outside looking in, it may seem to observers that serving a two-year church mission after high school would be a hindrance to one’s football career. That has not been the case for Derek Romney.

Romney, who graduated from Thatcher High School in 2006, returned from his mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on July 1, and is already playing a key role on the 2009 Eastern Arizona College football team.

“If I had held off the mission and played a year, I would not have been ready to play,” Romney said.

Thatcher High School graduate Derek Romney, left, has been a welcome addition to the Eastern Arizona College football team for head coach John O’Mera (also pictured). O’Mera initially planned on redshirting the defensive end for the 2009 season. However, because of Romney’s talent and because he got into shape so fast after returning from a two-year LDS mission, O’Mera said Romney was too good not to play. Photo by Brian Wright

“I would have been mentally out of it. But now that I’m a little more grown up, it helps out being able to deal with certain aspects of junior college football.”

Romney’s biggest challenge was getting into football shape in a very short period of time. After two years of limited exercise, Romney hit the ground running when he returned to Thatcher.

Football camp started Aug. 9, so he had barely more than a month to make the transformation.

Romney was also juggling a job in addition to lifting weights three hours a day and heading to the track by himself at night to run.

EAC head football coach John O’Mera said the results came quick. Romney gained 40-50 pounds on his lifts in the weight room and increased his 40-yard dash from 4.9 seconds to the 4.7 range.

It’s safe to say the hard work and dedication required to get back in shape and hold down a job would not have been possible for Romney without the lessons he learned on his LDS mission.

“Something that really helped me was the humility you get when you’re out there,” said Romney, who served his mission in a Spanish-speaking area of Detroit.

“You’re coming up with things to do to try and help people live better lives. You get to see the change in other people, and in so doing, you have to change a little bit of yourself. You have to grow up while you’re out there.”

O’Mera is especially fond of return missionaries because he said there are countless positives including leadership, accountability and punctuality. EAC currently has four players who have served a mission on its roster.

“The more we get of that, the better we’re going to be here because we have kids who are doing the right things,” O’Mera said. “If you get enough people going in the right direction, people are going to follow.”

Romney still has many goals he wants to achieve over the next several years. They include playing football at a Division I school; getting a degree in psychology, getting married and playing in the NFL.

After another year at EAC in 2010, O’Mera said Romney, a 6-3, 240-pound defensive end, will be in a good position to receive Division I offers. O’Mera added that Romney can be an asset at many positions. He may see time at tight end, linebacker and fullback next year.

And without the opportunity to play football for more than two years, what did the missionary miss the most about the game he loves?

“Hitting people without getting in trouble,” Romney said with a smile.