Busy Day for the Pioneers

In what was the busiest day yet for the 2013 Pioneers, they were still able to find time for some fun.

The day began with a 6:30 practice.  The Pioneers were greeted with a heavy layer of fog for the special-teams heavy practice.

Classic football weather for the 6:30 AM practice

The practice finished with speed and agility drills for the skill guys and strongest man drills for the linemen.  After practice each player got a protein bar and gatorade to begin the re-fueling process immediately, then they made their way to the pool for twenty minutes to aid in the recovery process.

In an event coordinated by Pioneer track and field star Christine Ajinjeru '14 and captains Colton Feller '14, Seth Gustafson '14, Morgan Kinsinger '14, and David Ternes '15, the Pioneers joined the students from the International Pre-Orientation Progam (IPOP) for lunch.

Harnak Mann '14 connects with new students

The lunch was a great opportunity for each group to learn about the other.  Obviously no two international students are the same, and neither are any two student-athtletes, but it was a great opportunity to connect and learn.

Following lunch the Pioneers spread across campus to help the incoming first-year students move into their dorms.  With groups stationed at the North, South, and East campus dorms they made quick work of a difficult task for the incoming students.

At 3:00 they finally moved back into football-mode.  They had a special teams meeting, followed by offense and defense meetings, then a full-padded practice.  There was a lot of good back and forth competition with the offense finally breaking off some long, explosive plays.  However the defense forced more turnovers yesterday than they had all pre-season.  It's great to see those groups compete!

The day continued with a trip to equipment manager Roger Bauman's farm for some bbq and a fishing derby.  The food and hospitality were both better than the fishing, but the Pioneers managed to reel in a few. 

Clayton Desjardin '15, winner of the smallest fish prize

The night concluded with a players-only trip to the Dairy Barn. 

It was certainly a full-day, but such is the life of a student-athlete at Grinnell College.