Henry Emswiler ’22 is a Junior on the Colby College football team, which is 4-5 so far this season. Emswiler was co-captain of Varsity Football and Boys Varsity Baseball at Hotchkiss.
Coach Danny Smith said, “Henry was 100% committed. When he came in as a Prep, he was one of the smallest kids on the team. Up to the time when Henry was a Senior, he lived in the weight room, never missing a day of working out. He was an outstanding teammate, loyal to the team, and incredibly coachable. By aligning himself with the upperclassmen, he committed to getting bigger, stronger, and faster, and it really worked. By Senior year, Henry became a captain.”
Teammate Drew Froehlich ’25 said, “Henry was an older brother to all of us. He had an amazing work ethic and would always stay behind after practice to help clean up and check on all of us.”
Why did you start playing football?
I was too slow to play soccer, and I didn’t really have any hand-eye coordination, so I found the sport that was more focused on a balance of size, speed, and strength.
What was football like at Hotchkiss?
My time on the football team was the best time I ever had at school— really every top moment I had.
Arriving on the team as a Prep and being taken in by the Seniors and PGs as a younger brother instilled this drive in me to want to be like them. To have people to look up to really helped me develop my work ethic.
Working with Coach Smith and wanting to be part of a culture that I felt cared for me gave me this connection with teammates unlike any other.
What lessons did you learn at Hotchkiss as a player and person?
I developed a lot of time-management skills, because there was a lot of work at Hotchkiss, and football was a pretty time-consuming sport compared to other sports.
Being part of the football team teaches you what it’s like not to think about yourself all the time and helps you understand how everything you do is part of the greater good.
What were some of your favorite moments playing at Hotchkiss?
My favorite time with team was the three-day pre-preseason summer camp that we had every August, called Camp Kennybrook, which was held in the middle of nowhere, New York.
We all stayed in cabins and practiced three times a day; it was terrible, but it really was the most memorable time every year. It was like going to summer camp with your best friends and playing football.
No matter how bad it seemed, we got to spend time together with our coaches and teammates, which brought everyone together as a team.
What was the college recruitment process like for you?
I didn’t have an Upper Mid season due to Covid, so I had more of an unconventional recruitment process. I knew that I wanted to stay in a small community.
I really liked NESCAC schools, which are smaller Division 3 schools. During my Senior season, it hit me that I wanted to go to a NESCAC school whether I was recruited or not.
Why did you commit to Colby?
I liked the people there. There was a good balance between academics and athletics. One of the main reasons why I was so interested in Colby was because they built a brand new athletic facility when I was applying. During my tour, the coaches brought me over, and I just could not say no.
Also, it had all the elements of the NESCAC schools that I was looking for. I felt like I really clicked with the community when I visited.
I thought it was a really positive team environment that resembled the similar close-knit community at Hotchkiss.
I knew if I could do well in a place like Hotchkiss, I could do well in Colby too. I liked that the team was headed on an upward trajectory, and I could help with that.
How has playing at Colby been so far?
What are some of your goals for college? I had a bit of a tough start. I was out for the season last year due to a knee surgery, but it’s been a blast since then.
I’m almost 20 years old, and I still get to play the sport I love with my friends every day; it’s an ideal situation.
