Adam Pierskalla heads to Hamline
Our guest player blog by Andy Pierskalla has been a work in progress for nearly 21 years. I met Andy for the first time when his mother Lisa was trying to coax him out of his diapers and into underwear. Needless to say he’s grown a few sizes since then and so has his appetite for St. John’s. Andy and his brother Adam along with their father Steve were guests of mine in Collegeville some 17 years ago for their first Johnnie Football game.
—DustySJU
If I haven’t taken the opportunity to introduce myself I’m a junior this year on the Johnnie football team but I’m actually in my Senior year at SJU, a double major in History and Social Science and have a minor in Politcal Science and Coaching. I am one of the luckiest people at SJU as I will have two “Senior Years.” I’ve made so many life-long friends and am truly happy in my decision to be a Johnnie.
Playing football for the Johnnies has been an amazing experience. Sometimes I just take a step back and think about how lucky we are to have great fans, facilities, and John as a coach. There is so much tradition behind this program and families play a huge role. Unfortunately my football playing brother chose to go to Hamline this fall, but I know he will probably regret that decision on October 11th, when the Pipers come to town.
Thursday, August 21st
Today we finally went 11 on 11. The defense continues to look sharp from top to bottom and the offense is progressing nicely. After practice I discovered the wonders of the ice bath. It’s my new favorite thing to do after practice and feels heavenly. The only problem is I tend to take my ice bath with Dave Burns and Tim Juba and that’s a lot of meat in a small whirlpool. When we get out the water level has significantly decreased. Tonight we watched the Olympics again and called it an early night.
Friday, August 22nd
More 11 on 11 today. Two practices were scheduled for today. The buzz around practice today is about the boxing match that we’re going to stage later in the year featuring Mike “The Scrapper” Schumacher and Nick “Golden Boy” Gunderson. Everyone seems to be split on who is going to win but of course both Schu and Gundy are very confident that they can beat the other. John surprised us by telling us that practice is going to be cancelled for tomorrow. The rest is needed for all as everyone is starting to get a little sore and banged up. At the team meeting, Ben Vanderheyden played his guitar for the team for the second straight year and was awesome. Film was also cut short due to “technical difficulties,” but I was coaxed to going on stage and do my Jason Primus impression for the defense. The guys who knew Primus said it was spot on but I don’t think it’s anything special.
Enjoy the weekend!
