Photo courtesy of Mr. Eric Freeman
Since he joined Choate in 2013, Mr. Eric Freeman has worked as a history teacher, an adviser in Tenney House, and the head coach of the wrestling team. He has been additionally involved in Choate’s summer programs where he acted as the Department Chair of History and a dean.
Over the years, Mr. Freeman has made many notable contributions to the HPRSS department, including an incorporation of local Wallingford and southern New England history into the Greening of America course curriculum, which Mr. Freeman wrote the textbook for. “He’s brought all of this amazing scholarship directly into his work with students,” said HPRSS Department Head Ms. Kyra Jenney. In athletics, in addition to being the head wrestling coach, Mr. Freeman has been an assistant coach for football for five years. “I do feel that I’ve helped individual wrestlers and the team do well over the last eight years and develop their skills and love for the sport,” reflected Mr. Freeman. Regarding his other responsibilities Mr. Freeman has taken on while at Choate, he added, “I’ve been doing the same kind of thing, teaching, advising, coaching, and sometimes in slightly different roles, but that’s kind of been my role.”
Sachi Mehra ’23, an athlete on the Girl’s Wrestling team, shared, “Mr. Freeman was very supportive at the beginning of my wrestling career. He took us to all the tournaments, even to the ones that only the girls wrestled, staying overnight at the tournaments to coach us.” Member of the Boys’ Varsity Wrestling Team Mike Seward ’24 added, “He is a phenomenal role model and leader for the team. He is great with the newer wrestlers and helps them with the intricacies of the sport.”
One of Mr. Freeman’s advisees, Philip Harris ’24 added, “Mr. Freeman has a calm and comforting demeanor to him and has always been helpful and supportive to me. He is known around the dorm as a chill presence and an interesting man to talk to.”
As Mr. Freeman takes on new endeavors, the Choate community wishes him the all the best.
