GREAT DAY TO BE A PIONEER!!

Recruiting is still going...I guess it never really ends in D3 football. We just got a commitment from a transfer who's a great football player and more importantly an awesome person!!

Check out The D3 Experience Blog for the story!

Pioneer in Serbia

Nick Merklin '08 (left) and two fellow Americans playing football in Serbia

Former Pioneer player and coach Nick Merklin '08 is playing professional football in Serbia. Playing WR, DB, and KR for the Kragujevac Wild Boars, Nick is blogging about his experiences at Football in Serbia.

The following is an excerpt from one of his posts:

We journeyed up north on Thursday afternoon, around 3 PM, through Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic towards our destination – Wroclaw, Poland. This out-of-country game was the second of three round robin games in our pool of the EFAF Challenge Cup. Our opponents were the Wroclaw Devils, a semi-final team from the Polish league last year. Restrictions on Serbs leaving the country are excessively high. Stan and I first noticed this on our trip to Budapest, as our train was stopped for nearly 2 hours and our passports were checked about 10 times (in reality they were probably checked just twice each, but I felt the need to exaggerate here). The check this time wasn’t as bad, but we did take the opportunity to scare a couple of our guys by making them line-up outside the bus, saying that Border Patrol needed to re-check them. Got to keep the guys on their toes. We got to Wroclaw at 11 AM Friday morning and checked into the Boogie Hostel. Then we gallivanted around the city.

More From A Pioneer In Argentina...

Scott Koenning '10 is spending this spring semester studying in Argentina. Recently you read about his trips around the country and in particular about his experience at a soccer game. Today, Scott updates us on his semester abroad where he shares the work he's doing with school-aged children in Argentina:

During my time in Buenos Aires, Argentina, I've spent my Monday afternoons at Casa del Niño Padre José Kentenich, a community day care center for kids ages three to thirteen. It's located in Florencio Varela, a humble city south of Buenos Aires. The Casa del Niño is a place for kids to go during the day while their parents are unavailable to take care of them. The Casa serves to help keep the children active and involved in school.

Scott teaching football to Argentine children

With two other students from the United States, I've worked to introduce the Argentine children to different games and sports. Our goals are to have fun, share a little American culture, and to get girls to participate more in athletic activity. Although females here in Argentina do play soccer and other sports occasionally, it is far from the norm. At Casa del Niño, it's clear the girls are typically shut out of the sporting activities, and can often be seen playing marbles, coloring in books, or just chatting while the boys play soccer. Coming from the United States where participation by females in sports is a strong and normal part of our culture, seeing this lack of female participation was surprising to us. With soccer being so strongly male dominated, we've tried to level the playing field with new games for both sexes, getting the girls involved in such American classics as kickball, dodgeball, and wiffle ball.

Look at that form!

Argentina is a country where there is no doubt, soccer is the national game. It dominates the sporting scene on all levels, and the Casa del Niño is no different. American football is essentially unheard of. I wanted to introduce it to the kids at the Casa, so I brought two footballs one Monday. It was their first introduction to American football, and some had to be reminded that they were playing with footballs, and not rugby balls. Despite its novelty, the game was a hit. Much like I've done at kids football camps at Grinnell College, I helped the Argentines run routes, learn to hold and throw a football, and even hit a mat. It was fascinating to watch the kids playing football for the first time, some were naturals, while others struggled with the new game. The best part was seeing the girls playing along with the guys, having just as much fun, and at a times, a little more success.

GRADUATION AT GRINNELL!!

WE HAD 9 GRADUATING SENIORS- WE ARE GOING TO MISS THEM ALL!!

JONATHAN ANTRIM- SALINA KS, ECONOMICS MAJOR, CENTER ALL-CONFERENCE, TEAM CAPTAIN, ROSENBLOOM AWARD WINNER FOR TOP LINEMAN,

WILL BE IN DES MOINES STARTING WITH AFLAC IN CORPORATE INSURANCE

MIKE HARGADINE- KREMMLING CO, BIOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY MAJOR, RB, THREE YEAR LETTER WINNER, TWO-SPORT ATHLETE TRACK/FB,

TEACHING HS SCIENCE THROUGH MILWAUKEE TEACHING FELLOWS FOR NEXT THREE YEARS

AARON HIRTZEL- GALT CA, ECONOMICS MAJOR, O-LINE ALL-CONFERENCE, FOUR YEAR STARTER,

MOVING TO VIRGINIA AND FINDING A JOB

VAN KENYON- ST LOUIS MO, BIOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY MAJOR, DL, TWO YEAR LETTER WINNER, GRADUATED IN THREE YEARS

ATTENDING A JOINT RESEARCH AND CLINICAL CARE POSITION AT THE EMERGENCY MEDIDINE DEPARTMENT AT NYU MEDICAL CENTER

KENNON LANDIS- WALDEN CO, COMPUTER SCIENCE MAJOR, DL, FOUR YEAR LETTER WINNER,

PLANNING ON GETTING A JOB IN DENVER AND GOING TO GRAD SCHOOL THE FOLLOWING YEAR

BRETT MALONEY- WHEATON IL, HISTORY MAJOR, LB, TEAM CAPTAIN, 1^ST TEAM ALL-CONFERENCE LEAD NATION IN TOTAL TACKLES, ULRICH AWARD WINNER BEST BACK

GOING TO DENVER THIS SUMMER TO PURSUE A CAREER IN SALES

CJ MOORE- CHICAGO IL, SOCIOLOGY MAJOR, RB/WR, ALL-CONFERENCE, TEAM CAPTAIN, 4 YEAR LETTER WINNER,

RETURNING TO CHICAGO TO EITHER PURSUE FINANCE/INVESTMENT BANKING OR GO TO EUROPE TO PLAY FOOTBALL

TYLER SCHAEFFER- LAS VEGAS NV, ART HISTORY MAJOR, LB, TEAM CAPTAIN, SECOND IN TACKLES, FOUR YEAR LETTER WINNER

MOVING TO MIAMI TO WORK AT A HOTEL

WILL SCHWALLER- MORRIS MN, ART HISTORY MAJOR, FS- ACADEMIC ALL CONFERENCE, 4 YEAR LETTER WINNER, NFF HAMPSHIRE HONOR SOCIETY

HAS AN INTERNSHIP AT PHILADELPHIA MUSEUM OF ART AND WILL CONTINUE THERE OR OTHER MUSEUM UNTIL HE GOES TO GRAD SCHOOL IN ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY

Strongman Competition Video!

Watch the Pioneers try to squat a house (figuratively) and pull a truck (literally)!

PIG ROAST THIS SUNDAY!

I had next year's seniors over to my house last night for a little barbecue and it was great- we have some extraordinary guys on our team! This Sunday is the all-campus "strong man" competition along with a Pig Roast that's put on by our football team- it should be a lot of fun!! We'll have video up next week!!

MORE RECRUITING!

Today is May 1 which is the "deadline" for prospective students to decide. In the business of DIII football recruiting, you often hear "no" more than "yes", but when you do get a commitment from that special recruit, it's the same feeling as winning a big game or scoring a last second touchdown to win a game! When I got a call from a highly sought after recruit yesterday and he said "I want you to be my coach" it was a special feeling and made me feel like all the time and effort we put into recruiting top student/athletes from around the country had paid off! We have a lot of people who help us with recruiting- our players, parents, alumni, admissions, administrators, and even our president, and I want to thank everyone. This truly is a "Pioneer Family", and it's why Grinnell College is such a special place!!