Adam was a two-sport star both at Chagrin and later at Allegheny College. He was a 2-way starter (plus special teams) on the 1987 CVC Championship team that made the 1st ever play-off appearance for the Chagrin Falls football program. He earned CVC and Geauga County 1st team awards as an offensive guard and represented Chagrin Falls as a starting guard in the 1988 East-West All Star game. In wrestling, Adam would place 4th in the OHSAA State Championships at 189 lbs. Besides county and conference awards, he could boast that he was never pinned in his high school career and only allowed 3 back points in his senior season. At Allegheny, Adam was the starting offensive center for the #1 ranked Division III football team that recorded the first ever perfect regular season in school history. During his four years, his teams recorded three conference and one NCAA national championship. In his senior season, he earned 1st Team GTE Academic All-America and 2nd Team Offense North Coast Athletic Conference honors. On the collegiate mat, Adam would place 4th (’89) and 5th (’91) in the NCAA Regional Tournaments and be honored as Allegheny College’s Outstanding Freshman (’89) and Outstanding Student-Athlete (‘91).