Scott Koenning '10 Working At The NCAA!

Scott Koenning graduated from Grinnell in 2010, having played linebacker and kicker while playing football for the Pioneers.  After a few years working for some non-profits that assisted high school students with finding college opportunities.  He is now heading to work for the NCAA in Indianapolis and these are his words:

In the spring of senior year at Grinnell, the school's Career Development Office sponsored a trip to a Selective Liberal Arts Consortium Recruiting Day in Chicago. There, I interviewed with several companies and organizations in a variety of fields. One of these organizations, the Schuler Scholar Program, ended up being the home of my first 'real job'. At Schuler, I provided academic support and leadership development programming to a caseload of talented high school students, managed the organization's website, and assisted with annual workshops for prospective college athletes. After two years with Schuler in the Chicago area, I headed to Boston where I currently work with Bottom Line, an organization that helps disadvantaged students gain access to college, graduate from college, and prepare for life after college. I serve over 80 students at three area colleges, providing support with challenges related to academics, financial aid, life issues, and career planning.

During my time with Schuler and Bottom Line, I developed a passion for student service. I realized I wanted to find a way to combine this kind of work with my interest in collegiate athletics. I expressed this interest to Coach Pedersen and Grinnell's Director of Athletics and Recreation, Greg Wallace, who were encouraging, engaged, and more than willing to help, as Grinnell faculty tend to be. This winter, I applied for the NCAA's Postgraduate Internship Program, a program the NCAA describes as providing "on-the-job learning experiences for college graduates who express an interest in pursuing a career in intercollegiate athletics administration". In June, I will enter the program interning in the NCAA's department of Inclusion and Leadership Development, where I will work on a variety of projects centered around student-athlete affairs and inclusion.

In the coming years, I hope to pursue a graduate degree and ultimately work in athletics administration at a selective college or university. My enjoyment of my time at Grinnell fostered my passion for athletics administration. I hope that in my work at the NCAA and beyond, I'm able to help student-athletes enjoy similarly challenging, nurturing, and diverse experiences.

Top 5 Special Teams Plays of 2012!

The first in a series of "Top Ten" plays from our 2012 season, this is the Top 5 Special Teams Plays of the Pioneer Football 2012 Season.

Be sure to Like Grinnell College Football on Facebook!

Pioneer Prospect Football Camp!

Pioneer Football is excited to officially announce the dates of our annual Pioneer Prospect Football Camp!

This year's camp will run on June 28th and 29th.  Please see the above brochure or this link for more information.

Registration is online here!

2013 Pioneer Passing League!

The 2013 Pioneer Passing League has been officially announced by Coach Jeff Pedersen!  Three consecutive Sundays in June (9th, 16th, 23rd) will be the dates for our annual 7-on-7 high school passing competitions.  Last year was an immense success with 3 of the programs involved having gone on to quarterfinal or better finishes in their fall season.  

Check out our flyer for all information!  

Contact Coach Pedersen for registration and any questions!

Max Keller Abroad in Australia!

This spring we'll be bringing you posts from a few Pioneers that are studying abroad this semester.  Defensive back Max Keller '14 is currently in Melbourne, Australia and this is his second installation.

In an Art History paper I completed recently I wrote, “This would beget the question, why would a representation of the sacrament in a Last Supper not function as a representation of the sacrament in a monastic dining room?” Then I thought to myself, “This would beget the question as to whether or not I knew what the hell I was talking about?” This final line of questioning seemed the more logical to me for a couple of reasons. One being, that I am pursing a Biological-Chemistry major with a concentration in Environmental Studies. Lastly, and most importantly, I was only a four hour flight from Cairns, Australia. This would be the start of a twelve day, ~ 4,000 kilometer (2,500 miles) excursion from the northern end of Australia to Sydney’s port.  

Seeing the Great Barrier Reef is a dream shared by many. It is the equivalent of a six year old boy dreaming to be a fireman, a four year old girl a princess, or vice versa. But even my six year old self who can fondly remember the excitement of climbing into a Fire Truck, couldn’t prepare me for this. After a sleepless night full of anticipation and excitement I was snorkeling and scuba diving along the interior edge of the reef. Within twenty minutes I had exhausted myself chasing countless fish and inhaling more ocean water than air. Being both stubborn and enthusiastic I forced myself to stay out, drifting more than swimming, yet enjoying the wonders and intricacies of life below the surface.

            

People often use the metaphor “it left me speechless”. Until this trip I do not believe I’ve ever had the privilege of being ‘left speechless’. Whether it was hiking through Mossman Gorge, plunging into the icy water beneath a waterfall, or watching a friend struggle with traveling along the left hand side of the road; I was often ‘speechless’. Things I will save for another time however. For now I would like to share one of my more memorable experiences from the trip. 

One night we came upon a camp site along the beach just before dusk. I asked the campers where the head office was and they pointed me in the direction of a small camper. Soon enough I found myself looking into the camper observing a small card table; holding a pack of cigarettes, an ash tray, a box of wine (called ‘goon’ here), and an older lady sitting behind it. Poking my head inside, afraid I would soon be checking for a pulse, I asked how much for a site? She replied, “For you, six dollars per person”. Luckily being speechless wasn’t a trend throughout the entire trip. Quickly walking a fine line between flirtatious and friendly, I coaxed camp fire privileges from her in addition to her spare lighter. That night we enjoyed a fire on the beech beneath a palm tree; fed by driftwood and coconut husk. I was left speechless. As I crawled into my sleeping bag that night, the campers next to us began playing the song Springsteen. And for a moment I was back home in Minnesota, but perfectly happy to be where I was currently at. 

I Chose Grinnell

Jeremy Wiles Continues Adventures in Denmark!

This spring we'll be bringing you posts from a few Pioneers that are studying abroad this semester.  Linebacker Jeremy Wiles '14 is currently in Copenhagen, Denmark and this is his second installation:

          The last few weeks have been quite interesting. Part of this experience has me playing two roles. One is experiencing Copenhagen as a Tourist and the other is experiencing København as someone who is living here, aka a Local. I know it’s hard to think that a place can possible feel at home in matter of months but I am pretty good at getting comfortable and feeling at home in a new environment. So the adventure continues…

OHSO Tourist:

        During my early March Study break I was accompanied by my fellow GC Pioneer Footballer , Jayson Campos, to see the places around Copenhagen that were deemed good for tourists. This meant asking our American and Dane friends, navigating through tourist maps and getting immersed/lost  in the city but we managed to see some headliners like: The Little Mermaid statue,  The Botanical Gardens, The David’s Collection and the National Museum for Art (Stutens Musem for Kunst).  I mention these top places because they’re all worth seeing more than once, except the mermaid. That one is worth the one great time you check it out, take pictures and look at the other wonder fully epic statutes around it. The National Museum of Art was all 3 hours spent awe struck stumbling through Nordic and European art from 1300-1900 some of which were from my  favs Titian, Rubens, Rembrandt. Shout out to Grinnell into to art class for the refined taste.  Another must see is the The David Collection which does offer some European art but it’s claim to OHSO fame is the absolutely amazing collection of Islamic Art collection hidden there. The two places were a good mix and  the experience  was even more solid given the scenic walk through the Rosenberg Castle to get in between the two.

        There are plenty of castles but I’ll save that for a later post. The most memorable experience I had was walking up the golden steps of a spiral staircase a top the Church of Our Savior located in Christianhavn ( a district in København). The Church by itself has a decadent and completely astonishing interior design and two colossal elephants that seemingly hold up at wooden, super organ.  If you don’t know already I got a thing for elephants. They’re just too cool for school.

         Don’t forget the Shawarma and weinerbro. Most of these places where accompanied with a street hot dog, pastries filled with love or a fat shawarma from the one and only BURGER HOUSE located in Amager. They deserve a shout out because they honestly have the biggest shawarma in Copenhagen, someone please prove me wrong.

Living as a Local:

       Of course I’m still a student here and must do student things like study in the Studenthuset café. Drink a little more coffee than usual and catch the crammed 6a bus every morning. I almost got hit by a bike like 3 times in one day. Tell me why that is low for some people. I also managed to make friends with a group of three local guys heading to the part of town called the meat packing district, Meat City to the locals.The Story goes… the three were walking down the street making beats with their mouth together  and they let my friend Jerry and  a OHSO J Wiley  freestyle on the corner with them for 20 minutes.  I always get extra excited when I experience music with people. You make it hip hop and add the fresh approach to jamming out with three random musicians in the streets at 3am and I have nothing else to call it but an O.H.S.O. experience. So that is what the world of Jeremy Wiles in København consists of.  Good food, great places and even cooler people.

Mock Up of New Adidas Uniforms!

Here's another mock-up of the Adidas TECHFIT uniforms we'll be rockin' next fall, complete with the scarlet "Gun Show" undershirt!

Go Pioneers!

Grinnell Hosts Unified Sports Day!

Grinnell Basketball Player Dominique Bellamy gets into a twirling competition with a SOIA Athlete

Grinnell College's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) hosted its second annual Special Olympics Iowa (SOIA) Unified Sports Day on Saturday, March 2.

Approximately 50 SOIA athletes from Ames, Des Moines and Grinnell participated in the event with the assistance of 60 Grinnell College students.

The program is an initiative that brings together SOIA athletes and athletes without intellectual disabilities (called partners) on sports teams for training and competition.

“This is not a day of competition, but instead a day of awareness,” said Michelle Haney, SOIA Unified Sports Director Michelle Haney. “Grinnell College students were able to spend time with Special Olympics Iowa athletes and learn about persons with intellectual disabilities. The Special Olympics Iowa athletes in turn get to spend time with college students and learn about them.”

The event, which lasted from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m., saw Special Olympics athletes participate in basketball, bocce, bowling, volleyball, soccer kicks and arts and crafts.

“I think that the event was a huge success in terms of being both fun and rewarding for Special Olympics athletes and volunteers alike,” said Karen Gogins '13, the Grinnell SAAC Community Service chair. “SAAC seeks to engage student-athletes in community service as a way to bridge the gap between the campus and the larger community. This Special Olympics event was a great way to do that, to give back to others, and to increase awareness and support for individuals with intellectual disabilities.

“Special Olympics Iowa was a great help to me in planning the event, a task that required volunteer recruitment and logistical organization,” she added.

SOIA, a statewide nonprofit organization, has provided sports training and competitions for children and adults with intellectual disabilities since 1968.

Nearly 11,000 athletes and Unified Sports Partners participate in Special Olympics Iowa events and competitions annually. For more information, call 515-986-5520 or visit www.soiowa.org.

Check out the Photo Gallery!

50,000 Views!

The Pioneer Football Blog has just hit 50,000 page views!  So pop the bubbly, let fly the confetti, or whatever you choose, just make sure to celebrate!

When we started the blog almost exactly 4 years ago to the day, we truly had no idea what we were doing, but thanks to our fans, players, families, alumni and other supporters we've kept getting better on the field and on the Internet.

Apparently we have a thing for round numbers.  50,000 page views of exactly 300 posts over almost exactly 4 years!  Joey Snyder's Senior Profile from October 2009 remains our most popular post ever with over 600 page views.  

Make sure to Like us on Facebook to stay up to date on all the happenings around the program.

We look forward to what the next 50,000 views will have in store for Grinnell College and Pioneer Football!

Go Pioneers!

Max Keller Abroad in Australia!

This spring we'll be bringing you posts from a few Pioneers that are studying abroad this semester.  Defensive back Max Keller '14 is currently in Melbourne, Australia and this is his first installation.

I was raised in a town of approximately 600 people, and to say the least I have been immersed into the country lifestyle. Though I have been able to experience city life a number of times, coming to Melbourne, a city of 4.5 million people has been an extremely refreshing change. While Australia is very much so “Westernized”, I learned quickly enough it is a mistake to perceive things here as “American”. Removing this perception allowed me to appreciate Melbourne, pronounced “Melbin”, for its diversity, history, and culture. Melbourne is a city full of Italian, African, Indonesian, and Asian descent and seeking out these pockets of diversity in the cafes, pubs, and suburbs of the city has made for a great experience.

The Beach at Torquay

You cannot help but fall in love with the Aussie accent and laid back lifestyle from the minute you land at the Tullamarine Airport. My study abroad program, IES Abroad, quickly had our group settled into our varying apartments or residential colleges. And after that it’s easiest to describe my time in Melbourne as a blur. My two week stay has included trips to St. Kildas beach (only a half hour away), walks through the Melbourne botanical gardens, and weekend stays at the seaside towns Anglesea and Torquay.

Melbourne's "White Night"

My first weekend in Melbourne was one I will never forget. The city annually hosts a festival called “White Night” that starts at 7pm and concludes at 7am. The festival included live music, great food, and light shows on the Yarra River. After a night of good music, new faces, great hospitality, and 2 hours of sleep, IES Abroad took us to the small seaside town of Anglesea. After arriving in Anglesea it wasn’t long before we found ourselves on a beach with wetsuits on and a board in hand. Being from Minnesota where water is abundant, but mostly frozen, this was something completely new to me.

Having only been to the ocean a few times I was keen to listen to our instructors about the dangers of the “rip”, which will pull you away from the beach and out to sea. One of my peers who was disappointed with the difficulties that come with learning something new, wasn’t so keen. Before long we saw him sitting on his board, head down, slowly drifting out to sea, with our instructor swimming to him. The entire time, completely oblivious as to what is going on around him, making for an entertaining story, and a lesson well learned. The struggles that come with learning something new, playing football, or adapting to a new area and culture will only be temporary if you paddle a little harder, and get up a little faster. If you sit around and let the waves hit your back, you’ll never get that opportunity to catch an interception, (even if it’s likely you drop it) or immerse yourself in a great culture, and you’ll most likely end up out to sea.

G’day from down under.

Max Keller

25 Amazing But Overlooked Colleges

Check out The Daily Beast's list of 25 Amazing But Overlooked Colleges You Haven't Considered But Should!

Liberal-arts schools without a core curriculum usually get credit for having the most free-thinking students (think Amherst, Hamilton, and Brown), but Grinnell empowers students in a novel way. The college is self-governed, meaning students are encouraged to solve all problems on their own, without invoking the administration or campus police. As part of this, students sit on university committees that oversee curriculum, budget, and residence-life decisions, as well as professor evaluations and student disciplinary actions.

Quinn Rosenthal Abroad in France - Part 2

This spring we'll be bringing you posts from a few Pioneers that are studying abroad this semester.  Center Quinn Rosenthal '14 is currently in Nantes, France and this is his second installation.  Read his first one here.

Well, let me first share the triumph that I have found the best sandwich in Nantes, the Grand Américain frites steak mayonnaise at the Machata Friterie. Of course, you have to go pretty far down an alley to find this place, its just a tiny window in the wall and there's usually several dudes with no teeth hanging around outside in hoods and sunglasses. So this monstrosity consists of a baguette, immense and delicious even by French standards, mayo, which is also surprisingly good in France, as many hamburger patties as they can shove in there, and a mountain of the best French fries you've ever tasted, yes, the fries are on the sandwich, its a game changer. Oh yeah, and then they grill it. And its four euros, which is not bad, especially considering you'll be full for about two days, or at least a lesser man would be. In general, French food is obviously awesome, but I don't love all of it. The things they do do undeniably well though, that I've discovered thus far, are bread, cheese, dessert, fries, and add to the list, sausage. 

Other stories: many have already heard about my Super Bowl adventure. All the american students from my program hang out a lot at this Irish pub called Fleming's, its kind of become our place. I made nice with the Canadian and British bartenders, and when I ran into one of them in the weight room, he said he would keep the place open late on Super Bowl Sunday so we Americans could watch. I didn't know until I got there at midnight on Sunday for the 12:30 AM kickoff that its actually illegal to keep your bar open past 2 in the morning in Nantes, as the bartender closed the blinds and explained to us that if the police knocked on the door, we all had to go hide in the cellar where they kept all the kegs. Luckily, this was unnecessary, although the game didn't end until 5AM. I had a great time, broing out with all the other anglophones, there were only two other Americans (I was the only guy in my program with enough 'Merica in me to stay out that late on a Sunday night) but also some English, Australians, and a couple random die hard French 49er fans. It was a great time, everybody was speaking English, buying drinks for each other, ogling at Beyonce, I took a nap during the infamous power outage, I'd definitely missed football. However I didn't end up going to bed till about 5:30 that night, and I had french class at 9 the next morning. But I made it through, I felt like I was doing Grinnell, hell, America, proud that Monday.

 What else? I've now taken two weekend vacations. The first was to Bordeaux, with some good friends from my program. We didn't do much touristy stuff, although we did get a nice tour around beautiful downtown Bordeaux. That weekend was more about wine tasting, relaxing after a whirlwind first couple weeks in France, and taking stock of just how lucky we are to have this opportunity to see the world with all its unique experiences. The second was a day trip with the program to Mont St. Michel, a 7th century monastery on a tidal island on the Norman coast. It lives up to its billing as one of the most beautiful sights in France, and you definitely felt the weight of being in one of the oldest churches in the world. I also ruined my shoes getting stuck in quicksand on the beach when the tide was rolling in, what can you do? After that we had a nice afternoon in the quaint beach town of St. Malo, where I again got stranded by the tide on a rock and had to swim back. There also just so happened to be a French carnival going on there that day so I was definitely not mad about a lunch of fresh fried sugar dough and cotton candy.

I wish I had more to say about the academic side of things. My classes are all interesting, taught in French and from a French perspective, and I'm getting along pretty well in them, except for maybe Medieval Heresy, my only class at the real French university. But, to be honest, in true French fashion, I haven't really been called upon to care about school that much yet. That is, except for my teaching internship. I'm still not sure why I signed up for it, or why I was given 10-14 year olds when I asked to be a language assistant at the college, but its really grown on me. My class of 10 year olds is actually my favorite. They're super interested in me and really easy to teach, and damned if I didn't feel it when I willed one of those little guys to say: "I...em...een...zee...riving...rroom." Because you know what that is? That's a complete sentence. Those little things that you didn't even know could get you so jacked.

A tout a l'heure!

Quinn