We reported on August 17th. This was a very crazy day; we began by moving into our housing units as well as taking Impact tests to help the trainers in case we suffer a concussion. As soon as it was our turn to come in we were lined up outside the Allen Center and brought in one at a time by J-Mo, one of our Senior O-linemen.   Afterwards we went to pick up our equipment and fill up our lockers. When I got to mine I found the biggest playbook I have ever seen. As soon as we were done with all of our equipment we had the rest of the night to relax.  The next day was an early one with breakfast at 7:30, as I walked out into the sunrise I knew I was going to have to work harder than I ever have before. After breakfast the freshmen headed back to our rooms to study our playbooks and catch up on some sleep while the upperclassmen went out for a 9:00 practice. When lunch rolled around at noon, I was anxious for our practice to start and as soon as 2 came I was out there with my helmet and cleats on ready for football. This practice was unlike any I have ever done before, although we only had helmets to protect us we were going all out with Coach Raeburn screaming for us to all stay off the ground, a hard thing to do in the game of football.  After a 3 hour practice, I was the most sore I have ever been in my life, and as I slowly made my way to dinner I knew that this was only the beginning but hey, “the first is always the hardest” right? Now originally I thought practice would be over after all of that, but not here, we still had tapes and meetings to go over along with team building exercises.

            The same schedule went on for the first week with a little more being added every day. And it was during this week that the brotherhood that being a Wabash College Football player gives really came out. Throughout the week we had team building periods where we would learn about each other. We would do activities such as American Gladiator where each team would go through challenges and the winners from each would move on to the next round. I have to give a shout out to team 9 for making it to the final round where we unfortunately lost thanks to Coach House and his Tennis racket of doom.. Along with all of this freshmen would be paired up with an upperclassman in order to form the sense of a team. This was a great way to meet teammates. I was lucky to be paired up with two great guys, although on this team you can’t go wrong. The guys I got paired up with were Dan Wood and Jeremy Morris. Although this was a great way to learn who my teammates are, the best experiences came from the guys off the field. One night I was invited over by Matt Hudson and Evan Isaacs to their Manor. These guys were great in making me feel like I was part of the team even though I am just a freshman. Unfortunately though, all good things must come to an end and as the week drew to a close, reality hit and school began.

         Our Freshman Orientation began with the hair raising “Ringing-In Ceremony” where as soon as President White rang the bell that has welcomed Wabash men throughout the 177 years that it has been in existence, we the Freshmen became Wabash Men and joined a prestigious brotherhood that extends to all points of the world. As soon as the ceremony ended we began our orientation process of being welcomed into Wabash, learning about the Liberal Arts, etc. After a few hours it was time to say goodbye to our parents so we could begin our journey as Men. This was a special moment where I was able to see just how proud my parents were of me. Throughout the week we spent hours on end in meetings learning the ins and outs of Wabash College. One day, we had to do community service with our Tutorial classes. My class went and I volunteered at the Vanity Theater in Crawfordsville, I personally painted the side trim of the building. As well as being busy with Orientation, Football at this time was in full swing, we were in full pads and we were going hard.

         Orientation came to an end and classes began, on my first day in class I was assigned an essay one of those “Welcome to College” things.  As for me, although I have an 8 O’clock class, my schedule is perfect, on Monday, Wednesday, and Fridays I have 3 classes and my school day is done by noon giving me enough time to relax before Football. As for Tuesdays and Thursdays, I only have one class in the morning which is very nice.

        This past Saturday was our Red and White Scrimmage which was the best part of Football to date, we were finally able to play in a game like scenario on the game field that I had only dreamed of playing on up to this point. It was also a great opportunity for my parents to come and see how I’ve been doing. The Sunday after the scrimmage was back to business, we had another scrimmage to get ready for and finally we would be hitting someone other than or own brothers.  As week 3 comes to an end, I look back at the time and realize that it has been hard work but has been very rewarding. Wabash Always Fights!!!

 - Adam Kowalski '13