This Monday started off looking like it was going to be another pretty day. Then around 8:00 AM or so the wind started whipping and rain clouds blew in. It was a good old fashion wind storm with showers popping up throughout most of the day.
Now as we approach the late afternoon and prepare to travel from Bern to Thun for the Juniors (U19 years) practice it looks as if the sun is coming out. But, that wind is roaring through just the same.
If the wind is similar to this twenty minutes away in Thun it will certainly be a challenge to throw the ball this evening. I am hoping that Bay Harvey the Junior QB will be there with his parents. I look forward to reconnecting with them.
Their older sons (twins Robert and William) played on our successful Swiss National team two summers ago when we traveled to the Netherlands to play in the European Championships. William is currently a student at VMI and Robert is working to get into college and may already have been enrolled. (I think he might have been accepted at Dartmouth.)
But, I would like to find out from their parents what Robert’s plans are. Robert was our quarterback for the the team and he certainly has the ability to play in college. He might not be a scholarship player right now…but with a little more seasoning I think he might be pretty good.
The younger Harvey (Bay) brother is another very good player at QB and I was wondering if the parents were going to move back to the states to allow Bay to play his last year of high school there like his brothers did. I would like to see more European players (and Swiss players in particular) come to the states to play.
Ironically the Harveys enrolled their two older sons for a senior season in Michigan – and only a few towns over from ours. It wan unfortunate that I was down at Moravian College coaching and I didn’t get to see the Harvey’s until their final day in the country – as they were leaving to return to Switzerland.
We had a short but very nice visit where I watched William consume a few hamburgers that I had made on the grill. The young man could put away those groceries.
There practice with the Juniors was really a great deal of fun for me. These young players are everything a coach wants. They want to play the game. Each one of him gives up his own free time to be part of a team.
They pay their own money….purchase their own gear and find a way to get to practice – which is at 8:00 PM (20:00 Swiss time by the way.). Dedicated players – so they really do listen when you coach them.
The U19 team has some excellent coaches…all voluntary also. They do a nice job of working the players hard and also teaching them. Although they may not have the background or experience 
these guys run a very organized practice with a lot of work getting done.
We practiced in a building that had several different floors of gymnasiums. One thing that is impressive about Switzerland is the amount of facilities available to clubs and athletes that allow for group training and different sport emphasis. Even though there are no school sports an individual with aspirations can become involved with a club and be trained and coached.
One thing I have to say the players do not shy away from contact. I cringed a few times when ball carriers were taken down to the hard gym surface. I mentioned it to one of the young coaches…he shrugged and said they are much more toned down than a few years ago.
I guess with only three practices a week they must feel that they need to cram as much into their practice time as they can. I get it….but with the limited numbers the team has….they are one injury away from having a major problem.
Afterwords the coaches gathered for a nice social session at a local bar. It was a nice time – getting to know these guys is a great experience for me. They come from very diverse backgrounds and two basically just finished playing.
How about this – one of the fellows is a doctor. Yup, a real live MD working on the Thun Tigers. Well, you might think he has a son on the team…nope, he just does it because he loves football! Wow!
Tomorrow I am going to jump on a train and head over to visit my friend Claudio in Lucerne. He is the manager of the Lucerne Lions. He also runs a sporting goods store of sorts (I think) and I can’t wait to see that operation.
I will also attend the Lions evening practice. That should be a great deal of fun. I actually visited with them a few years ago and Claudio was still playing football. He has now given it up and he and his wife recently brought a little boy into the world. I wonder when Nino will start playing football?
Well…Lucerne (fantastic and beautiful city) and football. What more can a guy want?