Experience the world of college football from behind the scenes through the daily diary of Nebraska offensive lineman and long snapper David Kolowski. Readers follow along with one of the biggest and best college teams in the nation. This original work allows the reader to experience the intense workouts and practices, week-long bowl trips, the excitement, determination, pain and frustration athletes go through daily. Read never-before-seen stories of pranks, hazing rituals, drinking, fighting, and other stories.
Diary of a Husker
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle.
Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Review
Diary of a Husker (is) a sometimes-scathing account of the first five seasons of former coach Frank Solich's six-year reign at Nebraska. The compilation represents a departure from previously published material on NU football. It just so happened that his five years coincided with a historically significant time in the program. Nebraska, which won a share of the national championship a year before Kolowski arrived, slipped from national prominence late in his career. --Omaha World Herald
Kolowski discusses his career in high school as a 6'3" 255 lineman and his early years in Huskerville, but I was most interested in his last couple falls when he saw a little p-t on the field. Coincidently, they were Frank Solich's final two turmoil-filled seasons, also. The author doesn't disappoint, he's gives us a detailed picture of the player's perspective through an almost daily journal. A would-be center, he sees playing time through long-snapping, almost solely in his senior season, 2002. Is Kowolski bitter for not playing more? A little, but a reading of his work will show he realizes he wasn't the mistreated player, just a guy who didn't live, eat, and/or breathe Husker football. An Academic honored scholar-athlete, Kolowski accepted a 3.0 grade point for one semester because he knew he had given it his best effort. That closely resembles his perception of his career on the offensive line, that maybe he wasn't cut out for stardom and that he might not have been able to do anything about it. I read enough to pick up who the slackers were, who the egotists were and who were the guys who "got by and got away with things". Frank Solich? Kowolski and I are blood brothers here. The Ohio University head coach is a nice guy, a good assistant coach, but not really a big-time Head Coach. This comes from the first recruit ever signed by Solich, (though recruited by Dr. Tom Osborne). Good read? Absolutely. It's not as biting as other tattle-teller book sellers such as Gary Shaw's 1972 Meat on the Hoof, an indictment of Darrell Royal and the University of Texas football program. Kowolski wrote Diary over the course of 4 years as he lived it; not having to rely on a tarnished memory, not writing with a grudge in hindsight. And while it may not be held in high esteem by some Husker fanatics, it won't bring the program crashing down either. --Victory Sports Network
"Diary of a Husker" written by David Kolowski, is an account of the five years (1998-2002) he spent as a walk-on offensive lineman for the University of Nebraska football team. His book, based on the daily journal he kept during his Husker football career, is a behind the scenes look into the world of Cornhusker football. I'm guessing that most Husker fans have never heard of David Kolowski. That's understandable, because he was a walk-on player from Millard West High School in Omaha and who, during his Husker career, played perhaps the most obscure position in all of football, that of deep snapper. Deep snappers are more inappreciable than the Maytag Repairman. To make matters worse, David languished for much of his career as the third string deep snapper and as a scout team O-lineman. (In a moment of self-deprecation, David quipped that his career at Nebraska could be summed up as "Relentless Mediocrity.") David came to Nebraska in the fall of '98 as a wide-eyed, eager and perhaps, naive Husker wannabe who had visions of greatness, but ended up spending most of his career stuck on the scout team. But during his final year in 2002, he earned a letter as the starting Husker deep snapper. He also was a First Team All-Academic Big 12 player; was on the Husker Unity Council and was a member of the Brook Berringer Citizenship Team for his volunteer work. Sounds like a nice story with a happy ending, right? Not quite. After enduring four years on the scout team, David found himself at the start of 2002 burned out and depressed, counting the days until his Husker career would finally come to an end. He writes: "A lot of people don't understand my frustration with football. To the rest of the state, what I'm doing everyday is a dream come true. But this dream gets really old really fast when it becomes all that you do, leaving you very little time and energy to do anything else. The dream quickly turns into a nightmare when you realize all your effort will get you nowhere." "Diary" takes the reader on a five year journey through the harsh, grueling and mostly unglamorous life as a Husker scout team member. For those who might not know, scout teams exist primarily to provide cannon fodder for the varsity players. Life there is often brutal, knowing that you'll get the snot knocked out of you at every practice, on every play, every day; that you'll be assured of getting almost no coaching to make you a better player and that you'll likely never see any playing time. "Diary" is a compelling and revealing book about the inner workings of the Husker football program. Husker fans will have a tough time putting this book down. What makes the book so compelling is that it covers the transition from the Tom Osborne Era to the first five years of the Frank Solich Era. (During that time, the Huskers went from National Championship winners in '97 to a struggling .500 team in 2002.) Since its introduction, "Diary" has been labled by some as a book that is all about Frank Solich bashing. (Those who share that belief, clearly haven't read the book.) To be sure, David's book is critical of many aspects of the Husker football program, but "Diary" is more than a book about Solich bashing-much more. To understand the numbers, when David was on the team, there were more than 180 kids in the program. With only about 40 players actually getting into any given game, the odds that the other 140 would see much, if any playing time, were remote. (Kudos to Bill Callahan for reducing the insane numbers of players.) Many of the fringe players-those who knew they would never get to play-figured out the gig pretty quickly. They managed to put forth just enough effort in practice and in the weight room to stay on the team. And by doing so, they could still get the clothes, watches and goodies and would be able to go to parties and tell --HuskerPedia.com by Husker Dan
Kolowski discusses his career in high school as a 6'3" 255 lineman and his early years in Huskerville, but I was most interested in his last couple falls when he saw a little p-t on the field. Coincidently, they were Frank Solich's final two turmoil-filled seasons, also. The author doesn't disappoint, he's gives us a detailed picture of the player's perspective through an almost daily journal. A would-be center, he sees playing time through long-snapping, almost solely in his senior season, 2002. Is Kowolski bitter for not playing more? A little, but a reading of his work will show he realizes he wasn't the mistreated player, just a guy who didn't live, eat, and/or breathe Husker football. An Academic honored scholar-athlete, Kolowski accepted a 3.0 grade point for one semester because he knew he had given it his best effort. That closely resembles his perception of his career on the offensive line, that maybe he wasn't cut out for stardom and that he might not have been able to do anything about it. I read enough to pick up who the slackers were, who the egotists were and who were the guys who "got by and got away with things". Frank Solich? Kowolski and I are blood brothers here. The Ohio University head coach is a nice guy, a good assistant coach, but not really a big-time Head Coach. This comes from the first recruit ever signed by Solich, (though recruited by Dr. Tom Osborne). Good read? Absolutely. It's not as biting as other tattle-teller book sellers such as Gary Shaw's 1972 Meat on the Hoof, an indictment of Darrell Royal and the University of Texas football program. Kowolski wrote Diary over the course of 4 years as he lived it; not having to rely on a tarnished memory, not writing with a grudge in hindsight. And while it may not be held in high esteem by some Husker fanatics, it won't bring the program crashing down either. --Victory Sports Network
"Diary of a Husker" written by David Kolowski, is an account of the five years (1998-2002) he spent as a walk-on offensive lineman for the University of Nebraska football team. His book, based on the daily journal he kept during his Husker football career, is a behind the scenes look into the world of Cornhusker football. I'm guessing that most Husker fans have never heard of David Kolowski. That's understandable, because he was a walk-on player from Millard West High School in Omaha and who, during his Husker career, played perhaps the most obscure position in all of football, that of deep snapper. Deep snappers are more inappreciable than the Maytag Repairman. To make matters worse, David languished for much of his career as the third string deep snapper and as a scout team O-lineman. (In a moment of self-deprecation, David quipped that his career at Nebraska could be summed up as "Relentless Mediocrity.") David came to Nebraska in the fall of '98 as a wide-eyed, eager and perhaps, naive Husker wannabe who had visions of greatness, but ended up spending most of his career stuck on the scout team. But during his final year in 2002, he earned a letter as the starting Husker deep snapper. He also was a First Team All-Academic Big 12 player; was on the Husker Unity Council and was a member of the Brook Berringer Citizenship Team for his volunteer work. Sounds like a nice story with a happy ending, right? Not quite. After enduring four years on the scout team, David found himself at the start of 2002 burned out and depressed, counting the days until his Husker career would finally come to an end. He writes: "A lot of people don't understand my frustration with football. To the rest of the state, what I'm doing everyday is a dream come true. But this dream gets really old really fast when it becomes all that you do, leaving you very little time and energy to do anything else. The dream quickly turns into a nightmare when you realize all your effort will get you nowhere." "Diary" takes the reader on a five year journey through the harsh, grueling and mostly unglamorous life as a Husker scout team member. For those who might not know, scout teams exist primarily to provide cannon fodder for the varsity players. Life there is often brutal, knowing that you'll get the snot knocked out of you at every practice, on every play, every day; that you'll be assured of getting almost no coaching to make you a better player and that you'll likely never see any playing time. "Diary" is a compelling and revealing book about the inner workings of the Husker football program. Husker fans will have a tough time putting this book down. What makes the book so compelling is that it covers the transition from the Tom Osborne Era to the first five years of the Frank Solich Era. (During that time, the Huskers went from National Championship winners in '97 to a struggling .500 team in 2002.) Since its introduction, "Diary" has been labled by some as a book that is all about Frank Solich bashing. (Those who share that belief, clearly haven't read the book.) To be sure, David's book is critical of many aspects of the Husker football program, but "Diary" is more than a book about Solich bashing-much more. To understand the numbers, when David was on the team, there were more than 180 kids in the program. With only about 40 players actually getting into any given game, the odds that the other 140 would see much, if any playing time, were remote. (Kudos to Bill Callahan for reducing the insane numbers of players.) Many of the fringe players-those who knew they would never get to play-figured out the gig pretty quickly. They managed to put forth just enough effort in practice and in the weight room to stay on the team. And by doing so, they could still get the clothes, watches and goodies and would be able to go to parties and tell --HuskerPedia.com by Husker Dan
About the Author
DAVID KOLOWSKI is a 2002 letterman of the University of Nebraska where he played as center and long-snapper. He lives in Davenport, IA with his wife, Lauren. Both David and Lauren are students at the Palmer College of Chiropractic.
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Book, Not Just For Husker Fans!!,
This review is from: Diary of a Husker (Paperback)
David Kolowski breaks new ground with this book, not really a sports book, not even really a football book, but a book that looks into the life of a young man faced with the challenges and potential glories of big-time college football. This was obviously written while in the thick of the action, in the heat of the moment and David's reporting of the days events quickly evolve into a behind-the-scenes introspective that strips the seemingly hubristic facade off of Husker football and shows fans what really happened during these five up and down years, directly from the perspective of a player. This unique look into the glory, the pain, the pride, and the sacrifices that these young men face is a must read for every fan, every player, every coach, and every parent.
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Walkon Player, But a "Scholarship" of a Book,
By
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Diary of a Husker (Paperback)
Diary of a Husker is the tale of a walk on player for the Nebraska Cornhuskers football team. Dave Kolowski is a Nebraska boy who lives his dream of playing for the home state Nebraska Cornhuskers. However, at times, he feels the dream has turned into a nightmare of constant practices, conditioning sessions, a life of football to the seeming exclusion of everything else, and playing through some of the most turbulent times in Cornhusker history. Diary of a Husker is an easy read and the 450+ pages fly by as one gets pulled into the inner world of Husker football. While some might see this as indictment of the system, former coaches and players, and the frustration of wondering if Dave will ever play, it is the thoughts and feelings of a young man who has to balance the incredible pressures of playing for one of the most scrutinized college teams in the Nation where the very mood of the state of Nebraska seems to hinge on how the fotball team does while balancing school requirements and the fact that college players are still teenagers and young men. You "see" the warts of the team as well as the greatness and commitment from players and coaches alike. I highly recommend this book especially if you want an insider's perspective of the Huskers as lived by one of the many young men who aren't in the spotlight, but nonetheless are key to the success of the team. Finally, for those of you who have aways wondered what happens to football players after they stop working out, lifting weights, and eating so much, check out the pictures of Dave as he progresses from high school football player to college player to former football player and college graduate.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
AMAZING BOOK!!!,
By
This review is from: Diary of a Husker (Paperback)
I have not yet finished the book, I'm about half way through it now. But from what I have read so far it is really great! It really gives you a great perspective of an average day of a Cornhusker Football Player! I had no idea what the Players went through from day to day and what it takes to be a part of one of the Best Programs in the Country! David did a wonderful job putting this book together! Thanks Dave!
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
