Heidelberg University photo

By Brian Lester
D3sports.com

Walter Kalinowski has the same hours and days in a week as everyone else. He just seems to maximize them more.

From working as a Registered Nurse and studying game film, to doing homework, going to practice and playing at a high level on Saturday afternoons for Heidelberg, the senior offensive lineman is a true example of being a student-athlete at the NCAA Division III level.

“We all get 24 hours in a day. What you do with that time is what differentiates you from others,” Heidelberg coach Scott Donaldson said. “Using Wally as an example for younger players to look up to is amazing. You have some kids that might complain about their two classes, and here’s Wally who just did a shift in the ER and is now all in with football. He’s doing what he does at an extremely high level.”

Kalinowski has been a four-year starter for the Student Princes. He’s a team captain. He started working as an RN this past summer. He’s also the first from the football team to go through the relatively new nursing program at the school.

As challenging as it all might seem, Kalinowski wouldn’t have it any other way.

“I enjoy it. I like staying busy and always having something on my plate,” Kalinowski said. “I remember balancing school and sports growing up, and now I’m just doing it at a higher degree, with a lot more on the line. Maintaining it all is easy when you have a good support system in place and a great coaching staff and great teammates.”

And it’s a system he can always count on. Utilizing it might mean hanging out after a practice or on the weekend with friends, or going out for a pregame meal.

Wally Kalinowski is a multiple-year starter on the offensive line for Heidelberg. Photo by Tom Nettleton, d3photography.com

“Being able to create time for myself and not allowing myself to burn out is big,” Kalinowski said. “I keep everything on the plate and take it day by day rather than think about it all at once and let it all crumble.”

Nursing wasn’t originally the plan for Kalinowski when he arrived on campus. He was a health science major who wanted to do something in the medical field. He thought about being a Physician’s Assistant. An advisor guided him in the direction of nursing, which he shifted his focus to the spring of his freshman year.

“It was a route where I could get a lot of clinical experience and still have the same kind of job. I like working with people and helping those in need,” Kalinowski said.

Donaldson worked with him any way he could to accommodate the rigorous schedule, especially Kalinowski’s sophomore and junior years when he was doing clinicals.

“Logistically it was a challenge as he couldn’t be at certain things, but we made it work,” Donaldson said. You love seeing guys do what they love, and Wally loves what he does in the nursing field.”

He was working three or four nights a week as an RN in the summer but has scaled that back to a couple of nights a week now that football season is going on.

“The big thing it’s shown me is I am an adult and there is no going back to being a kid anymore,” Kalinowski said.

But his coach is right. Kalinowski loves what he does.

“I love talking with people. Every person is different. You have to figure out how someone wants to be cared for,” Kalinowski said. “Some people like you talking with them and some just want you out of the room.”

He doesn’t bring up the fact that he’s a football player while at work, unless of course someone asks about it.

But he does love the game. He started playing it in fourth grade and hasn’t looked back. His dad, a former standout at Catholic, inspired him to start playing the game.

“My dad was a big influence even though he played in the dark ages,” Kalinowski said with a laugh. “He was a wide receiver. I give him a hard time that he was soft.”

No one, though, will ever give Kalinowski a hard time about being soft. He’s anything but.

Donaldson said Kalinowski came to college ready to play.

“As a player, he’s an absolute monster. He’s a beast,” Donaldson said. “He’s aggressive, he’s physical, he’s athletic and he knows what he’s doing. “He’s been a four-year starter for a reason. His leadership is unbelievable.”

Wally Kalinowski, in scrubs. Provided photo

That will to work that has made Kalinowski a great football player has carried over to everything he does.

“It’s carried over to the classroom and in the way he attacks film and attacks practice, all with a lot of hard work and tenacity,” Donaldson said.

Kalinowski said he loves the brotherhood that is part of football as well as the lessons learned.

“The life lessons are the biggest thing,” Kalinowski said. “You learn how to face adversity, and if you can do it in football, you can do it in life. Things aren’t always going to go your way, but you meet so many people from so many backgrounds, and it teaches you to be grateful for the opportunity you are in. Some would kill for that spot.”

Kalinowski and the Student Princes are 4-2 going into their bye week. Donaldson is proud of what the team has done up to this point.

“I’m unbelievably proud of this team. They have fought their butts off for six straight weeks, and there have been no easy games yet,” Donaldson said. “Even against Mount Union (28-6 loss), we battled. As a coach, that’s all you can ask for.”

Kalinowski said continuing to battle is what the team plans to do.

“We are going to continue to give it all we have, and are going to try to go out and win every game we have left. We want to enjoy every second we have left this season,” Kalinowski said.

His goal, once football is done, is to eventually become a pediatric nurse practitioner or a pediatric physician.

The journey up to this point has been one Kalinowski wouldn’t trade for anything. It’s also one, some ways, he never imagined would unfold the way it has for him.

“I always had high expectations for myself, but I never expected to work as an RN and play football ever in my life. It’s my biggest accomplishment and I’m grateful to be in the spot that I am.”