August 18, 2008

Ready for Camp

Coach Nate Powell '09 - Football season, it’s something our Football Family has been waiting for since December 1, 2007. All the guys returned to campus today to start the new season. Check-in is done, and went very smoothly. It’s really exciting to see all the new faces . . . the future of Wabash Football. I think all the guys are in for a big surprise with the new staff. It’s a talented group of experienced men, who hold the potential to take our Wabash Football Family to a new level. The coaching staff has been here all summer preparing for the season, as have all the players back at their homes. I think I’m most excited to see the reaction of the freshman when we leave for camp tomorrow night. It’s a guarantee that camp will be unlike anything any of these men have seen before. The time has come . . . football season is finally here!

Posted by pynenbea at 05:24 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Walking Tall

Erik Shaver '09 - Two weeks ago, nineteen members of the Little Giants football team met on a hot tarmac at the Indianapolis International Airport with a single united goal in mind: to pull a plane. Yet my teammates and I knew, before we even stepped onto the piece of airstrip that would serve as the competition area that we had already won. The nineteen of us had raised in excess of $1,100 to benefit the wonderful organization that is the Special Olympics Indiana. Walking into the airport clad in the white of our road jerseys, numerous individuals came up to thank us for our participation, including alum Scott Furnish, alum Chris Denari, and our friend Blake and his mother, captain of “Blake’s Buddies”.  In the end, we were able to win the All-Star Division with a pull time under that of five seconds. When I think of the plane pull however, I tend to see it in a different light. 

Our college has a mission that is has imparted upon all who choose to learn within its “classic halls”. Wabash wants its representatives to Think critically, Act responsibly, Lead effectively, and Live humanely. When looking back at what occurred two weeks ago, it is easy to see that we as a group, as teammates, and students of this hallowed university have lived these principles through our actions. We, as Wabash men, are able to walk TALL by living life as responsible, good men. As always, Wabash Always Fights.

Posted by pynenbea at 05:21 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

August 17, 2008

Wabash Football Family

Jeremy Morris '09 - The class of 2009 set out on our senior trip with open hearts and open minds. Our goal was to get closer as a class and become one cohesive unit. Our first journey was the 24 hour long trip to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where we went white water rafting. This was an amazing time and gave us a chance to bond on a river. Even though the water was less than 50 degrees Tony managed to fall in twice taking Rich along with him once. Our next major journey and the main reason we took the trip was to drive down to Utah and climb Kings Peak which is the highest peak in the state. The fun has begun! We started off with a 10 mile hike to the base of the mountain where we made camp and prepared our self for the amazing climb that next morning.

 We woke up at about 6am and began our journey to the base of the mountain where we scaled the false peak which was an absolute beast.  Rode said the night before that this might be the hardest thing that some of us have done, and he was right. Imagine seeing five linemen climbing up a mountain, not a pretty sight. With the help of Rode, Brent, Kraft, D Mann, Schwanee, Calvin, Bubba, Rich, and Pilli to name a few we made it. This was a complete class effort, everyone had their role for that day, and without each and every person we would not have made it. The class of 2009 bonded into a group of brothers that will be a force on the field in the upcoming season.

Posted by pynenbea at 08:23 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

August 14, 2008

Conquering King's Peak, Utah

Matt Kraft '09 - The 2008 senior trip will prove to be one of the biggest moments of our season.  As a class, we had the opportunity to overcome an obstacle that individually few of us would have been able to achieve.  Additionally, I felt privileged to get to know my classmates on a more personal level.  So much of our time as football players is spent thinking in a football sense.  During the trip, we received the chance to put that aside and spend time with each other outside of the game.  That aspect is what will outlast our playing careers 

The trip was not only good for our individual relationships; it was an exciting forecast of our upcoming achievements.  It is a well-used cliché that football is a character builder.  I never really believed that too much.  However, I believe that it is very much a character revealer.  Similarly, through the tougher elements of our journey, character and heart were revealed.  Seeing the fellow seniors exposed for who they are excited me more than our mountaintop accomplishments.  Wabash Football will be something to see.

Posted by pynenbea at 07:38 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

August 13, 2008

My Summer Experience

Charles Goodman '10 - This summer, I had the unique pleasure to stay here on campus and work an internship in the financial aid office.  This was my first summer spent away from home and I enjoyed every minute of it.  With working in the financial aid office and being around a computer all day, I had the opportunity to not only do work related to my job on the computer, but I also had the opportunity to educate myself on a lot of the issues going on around the world and keep myself informed of many of the issues that are prevalent in our society today.  Working in the financial aid office this summer was a very fun experience for me, however it was not the best experience that I had this summer.   

Working here this summer, I got to be around two of my most favorite groups of people here at Wabash: the coaches and my fellow players.  This summer, I was able to build a fairly close relationship with the coaching staff and enjoyed their presence everyday.  Seeing the coaches day in and day out served as a constant reminder as to what we are trying to accomplish this season.  Seeing the coaches nearly everyday made me want to go in the weight room and give it my best each and every day.  I realized just how truly busy these coaches are and how hard they work for this program.  I felt it was only fair to return the hard work in the weight room for the coaches’ sake.  However, more so than seeing the coaches each and every day, I got to see a lot of the players working out in the weight room with me day in and day out.  It was beyond satisfying to see a group of guys as dedicated as I am (if not more) busting it in the weight room everyday so that we can capitalize on the mistakes we made last year and dedicate this season to being the best Wabash College Football Team in the history of the school.  Players such as Jeremy Morris, Derrick Yoder, Evan Isaacs, Tony Neymeiyer and Skip Tokar were in the weight room everyday and we have all built a strong relationship and bond from this summer’s experience.  I know that these guys will be ready when their numbers are called in the game and that these men are ready accomplish these two goals for the college this year: getting the Bell back and winning that National Championship.

Posted by pynenbea at 10:28 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

April 24, 2008

Not Your Average Day in the Field

Brent Harris - Brock Graham has been involved in many interesting projects during his two years at Wabash. The 2007 Wabash Freshman of the Year traveled to Botswana with 20 of his fellow students, each paying $3,000 to make the trip to serve as missionaries to the people of Maun during spring break. He's been a force on the football field as a starting J-Back, helping the Little Giants win back-to-back North Coast Athletic Conference titles and a berth in the 2007 NCAA Division III football playoffs. He's worked so hard in the classroom as a religion major that he will be able to graduate in December, a full 17 months ahead of the remaining members of his freshmen class.

Wednesday afternoon, however, he spent the day in a different field --- a corn field.

Graham will be featured in the third issue of Champion, the new magazine produced by the NCAA. The magazine tells the stories of the many student-athletes competing at the collegiate level in addition to providing information about various events and happenings throughout the members of the NCAA. When Champion editor Gary Brown heard the story of Graham's trip to Botswana, he and the rest of his staff at the NCAA office decided to put the Wabash sophomore on the cover of the third edition.

Art director Arnel Reynon from Sport Graphics in Indianapolis, brought an NCAA photographer from Denver, Colorado to Crawfordsville to set up a photo shoot for the cover. The afternoon was spent not only on the main football field at Hollett Little Giant Stadium --- a familiar setting for Wabash's leader in pass receptions in 2007. The crew started the shoot on the train tracks behind the stadium in a tribute to the Monon railway which provided the famous trophy for the annual Monon Bell Classic between the Little Giants and DePauw University. Reynon had one more idea for the final location.

"We saw some great corn fields on the way into campus. Any chance we could find one to use in the photo shoot?"

A quick phone call to Mike Warren, Wabash associate director of alumni and parent relations, and we were on our way to a local farm east of town. The final hour of the shoot must have had the local farmers perplexed as to why a young man was wearing football gear in the middle of corn field about to be tilled for the upcoming planting season.

The day came to and end, just in time for Brock to return to campus to get to the weight room to lift with some of his teammates.

We'll have the full story of the students' trip to Botswana in the next edition of Wabash Magazine. The next quarterly issue of Champion will be sent to NCAA members in late July. You can check out the current issue online at www.ncaachampionmagazine.com.

Posted by harrisb at 08:08 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

February 07, 2008

A Special Visit

Several Wabash football players visited with patients at the Riley Hospital for Children Monday afternoon. Robert Campbell ’10 had a special reason to make the trip --- his sister was a former patient at the hospital. Each time Campbell returns, he sees the impact a few hours spent can make in the lives of the children and their families.

A few years ago my sister was diagnosed with Juvenile Diabetes. The hospital my parents had taken her immediately sent her to Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis. She is now a junior in high school, but the impact that the people at that hospital had on her and on my family is still felt to this day. Every chance I get to give back somehow to that place, I take it with open arms.

As for my experience with the hospital, fortunately, I have never been there as a patient, however, I have been twice now as a visitor, and I can honestly say that all the enjoyment those kids get from getting to spend some time with a college football player is returned to me ten-fold. Each child I work with when I go there is a blessing to me because it reminds me of how lucky I am personally just to be a health individual. Some of the experiences these children endure I would never wish on my worst enemy, however, these kids just keep moving on with a smile on their face. Secondly, it reminds me of the impact we can all have on the world around us. Most of these kids have no idea where Wabash College is, they have never been to a Wabash football game, they just see a guy wearing a football uniform who wants to spend time with them, and that means all the world to them.

This experience goes beyond the classroom and the football field; way beyond. Anyone could make an impact in a child's life, and to be honest with you, it will have just as much impact on your life as it will on theirs.

Photo - Wabash football players Robert Campbell and Seth Tichenor in the playroom with two patients at the Riley Hospital for Children.

Posted by harrisb at 09:34 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)