Author: bigdaddc@comcast.net

So much for arriving at the airport several hours in advance.  I am just starting the first leg of my journey to Zurich which will obviously start in Detroit.  Well I arrive in front of the Air Canada ticket counter at 10:45 for my 3:00 flight.

I know it was early – but there was no one in sight.  For a brief minute I thought perhaps they had gone out of business and I would be walking to Switzerland from the States – or OK renting a row boat maybe.

Anyway, two ticket agents in the next kiosk over told me that the Air Canada would be back at 12:25 to take passengers.  Well a little time to kill here in the terminal.  But, where do you go when you really can’t enter the airport where there are restaurants, bars etc.  Oh well a simple case of hurry up and wait.

The trips over and back to Switzerland are all day suckers and that’s the price you pay when you want to go to such a beautiful area.

The neat part of the flight to Zurich is that it is an over-night trip. So, you get to sleep on the way over and it gets you there bright and early (6:35 AM Swiss time – which is six hours ahead of our time on the east coast.)  Now coming back that truly is a bear as you start in the late morning there and get home in the early evening here ….. no night time flying to trick you into sleeping.  Yeah add on the six hours and it is a long day.

I have a loose schedule that has me spending the next ten days on the ground in Switzerland working on football and also having a great deal of spare time to explore the country some more.  Actually, I feel a little guilty about the free time because my friends do have to work at their livings while I spend time enjoying the people and the scenery.

Over the past several years I have developed some really good friendships with people in the football community in Europe and in particular my second home in Switzerland.  Friends like Stephan and Daniel organized this trip for me to be a part of their team – the Thun Tigers.  Well, I was flattered that they would want me to spend time with their team.

Our relationships began while we were working with the Junior (Under 19) National team from Switzerland a few years ago.  We played in the European Championships that were held outside of Amsterdam.  We all had a great time both on and off the field and our team won their first international game in nineteen years or so.

So our friendship was also strengthened by our successful venture with the team.

But, to have this opportunity to work with Stephan (who is now the head coach of the Tigers), Daniel and the other coaches is a chance I could not refuse.

Going through the long days traveling are certainly worth the payment of working in football and learning more about the game and how it is played throughout the world.  Plus the benefit of visiting with friends and meeting new people in this tremendous country is another great (ad)venture for the Konkretekidinfootball.com.

 

 

Football starting up again for Your Call Football!

After zipping south to Jacksonville, Florida from the Detroit area with stops in Kentucky and Atlanta (to visit my younger son Corey) finally made it to the Hyatt down along the riverfront.

Dropped the boss (wife) off to stay in Atlanta a few days with Corey and Taylor.

Set up my personal camp in Jacksonville and with the arrival of my friend John Marshall on Friday and Kurt Schottenheimer on Saturday we began to pull our staff together.   This is going to be a great experience for all of us old former NFL coaches.  We all know each other and we all love working around each other!

The second edition of Your Call football is going to be a lot of fun although I will only be able to stay for the first few weeks.  I have committed to travel to my beloved second home in Switzerland to coach football there. So – I will have some fun here – jump in a jet to Zurich and have some there!  Hah!  What a life!

Former Pittsburgh Steeler great Merril Hoge is heading up our coaching staff and Solomon Wilcots will be his opponent as a head coach.  But some exceptional leadership from Julie Meringer and our director Collin Vataha make our organization adds to s\the strength of this organization.

We had a lot of fun working out of Dodgertown in Vero Beach last year and the camaraderie of our coaching staff was unbelievable.  Well, maybe it shouldn’t be seen that way – since all of us old coaches pretty much know each other and we are friends.

Truly last year was a great experience for me.  Obviously – the coaching is a lot of fun.  But, the renewal of my friendship with many fellow coaches I haven’t seen for many years made it a very special six weeks.

Today I looked around the lunch room and was amazed at the level of coaching experience in that room.  Just at my table alone – John Marshall, Kurt Schottenheimer, Mark Duffner and Ray Sherman.

Lets look at John…..OK a NFL coordinator who has won two of the three Super bowls he was in, two National Championship rings in NCAA, also a State High School Championship from Oregon.  OK Kurt – NFL defensive coordinator, special teams coordinator, head coach in the UFL.

Mark Duffner – College head coach with an amazing 60-5-1 record at Holy Cross, 20-35 record at Maryland, longtime linebacker coach and defensive coordinator.  Awesome man and coach.  Ray Sherman a longtime receiver coach and offensive coordinator throughout the NFL.

That’s just at the table I was sitting at!  Eye popping!  What a great learning opportunity is sitting in front of me.  This will be a fantastic experience for me.

The players will start filtering in tomorrow…then the real fun will begin!

Jimmy Buffett said:

“I took off for a weekend last month just to try and recall the whole year. All of the faces and all of the places wonderin –  where they all disappeared.  I didn’t ponder the question too long.  I was hungry and went out for a bite.  Ran into a chum (Here’s where I change it)….he had a case of Coors Light hidden out of sight.  We went back to his place and set a good pace to drink all night…”

Anyway, thought it would be interesting to take a look at the last year:

January:

Obviously built a few beeramyds!  Used my new smoker and grill.  Shoveled some snow here in Michigan …. our house and Norma next door.  Spent some time with my good friend Terry Copacia and his All State Quarterback School.  Some really great young players developing there with the help of Joe Youngblood and Taylor Copacia.

Love watching these guys train players!  If anyone wants their son to be a QB – this is the place to go.

Thanks to Terry and Curtis Blackwell here in the states and Giorgio Volpi and

Fulgenzio Jioro we got our new enterprise off the ground (Sound Mind Sound Body Europe).

February:

Zipped down to Arizona with our friends the Fords….stayed in Gilbert, Arizona which is outside of the Phoenix and Tempe area. It used to be farmland when I coached at Arizona State in the early ‘80’s.  Now it is a small city with a fantastic downtown.  The boss (wife

Shawn) has her oldest brother Gary living there.  He has a fantastic place with a great pool – a little cold to use it – but we jumped in anyway.  (No scorpions, black widows or rattlesnakes spotted!)

Went over to watch our beloved Sun Devils play – and lose to the Mildcats from the U of A.  TFord was happy – we were not.

Jumped on a jet and up to Albuquerque, New Mexico (Sadies Restaurant!) The Land of Enchantment!  I will tell you – the finest food you can find!  Beautiful country – it is not all desert by the way.  In fact Albuquerque is over 5000 feet, Santa Fe 6000 and Taos nearly 7000 feet – guess what it snows (a lot) there!  Just a note Denver is 5000 feet – Northern New Mexico is higher!

Honestly, there are people who live here in the US who do not realize that New Mexico is a state.  Amazingly they think New Mexico belongs to the country of Mexico.  Come on – study geology…. Whoops, I mean geography.

Kept working on our European project (Sound Mind Sound Body Europe)

March, April and May

“Your Call Football” beckoned me to Florida.  Dodgertown in Vero Beach, Florida became my residence for the next six weeks.  Working on an

interesting project called “Your Call Football.”

Very interesting concept….the fans call the plays and the teams that we trained run the plays.  It is the brainchild of George Colony (Forrester Research) run by Julie Meringer was the president and Colin Vataha the director of football operations

Here’s how it worked. We had about 90 players who were basically free agent type players – mostly from solid division 1 programs. We trained them for several weeks then played a series of three games.

Fans got an app for their phones, iPad or computers which allowed you to stream the games live.  It’s FREE!  As the game went on each participant was offered a selection of three offensive plays on every down. You selected the play and it was instantaneously tabulated and the most popular was beamed to the head coach.  He had to call the play no matter what he thought of the selection.

This all happened in about 25 seconds!  Truly amazing! AND THE APP IS FREE!

So, actually the score had little bearing on how the fans picked plays.  Each fan was in direct competition with the other fans (or a group of friends they could select) to pick the “winning” play.  I honestly don’t know how all of this works.  But, it is interesting because it allows the fans to be directly involved and run the game!

We had some great coaches involved in the project.  Our head coaches were Mike Sherman and Merril Hodge.  Assistants like Kurt Shottenheimer, Bob Slowick, Tom Rossley, Bert Hill, George Cortez, Chick Harris, Robert Ford, Martin Bayless, Chris Dishman, Jonas Jackson, Ben Sherman, Chris Mosley, Art Kehoe, Andre Barboza etc.  Oh yeah – me too!

It was an interesting six-week period and made some new friends while reconnecting with some old pals. Football has always been a great way to meet people with shared interests.

By the way there was some beer put away in Dodgertown – we did keep the Vero Beach bar economy in the black!

Plus, the boss (wife) got a few vacation trips to Florida while the weather in Michigan was trying to figure out what to do.

June

We drive into the summer with really great weather here in Michigan.  It seemed like most of the country was dealing with tough weather – but here in the “mitten” shaped state we really had some nice days.

For whatever the reason we avoided the severe storms that were popping up all over the place. Michigan is one of the best kept secrets in the country.  My prediction is that there will come a time when people will actually pick Michigan as a vacation spot.

Well, why not?  It is a great place.  If you are a golfer (I am not) – really a great number of courses that are spectacular.  If you are an outdoorsman (I am not) – well great places to fish also water ski….water and lakes all over the place (Great Lakes State!)

July

We put the finishing touches on our “First Annual Sound Mind Sound Body Combine and Clinic” preparing for a kickoff on August 3^rdin Tenero, Switzerland.  I really was eager to get back to Switzerland and see many of my friends again.

Giorgio and Fulgi did a fantastic job in Europe lining up the fantastic facility in Tenero.  They worked very hard to get everything prepared for our first (ad)venture overseas.  Many hours and miles were put in by my friends on the other side of the Atlantic.

As the month ended we hopped on a jet for the day long trip to Milan and up into Switzerland.

August

Our first annual “Sound Mind Sound Body” was ready to roll on the first weekend of August in Tenero. I have to say that this area of Switzerland is a beautiful part of the Italian side of the country.  What a beautiful place to have this football camp.

We didn’t get the numbers (in regards to athletes) that we were hoping.  But, later we began to understand that our timing was probably not as good as it could have been.  Apparently, this was a “Holiday” period and many people take their vacations at this point.

Regardless, we had a fantastic camp.  Curtis and Terry were simply outstanding.  Two very talented men who really know what they are doing and also have a great feel for people.  I think the group of SMSB impressed the coaches and players who came to Tenero.

Cannot express how much we appreciated the efforts of Giorgio and Fulgi.  Volunteering their time and efforts to make sure that we were comfortable.  Just another step in learning more about another culture and how we need to learn to be better friends to our neighbors across the seas.

After spending a little more than a week in Switzerland we hopped on the jet back to the States. The trip is long …. but not necessarily the flights.  It really gets long as you sit around in airports waiting for the next flight etc. But, remember airports do have bars!

Get back to Michigan – jump into my truck and head down to Bethlehem Pa. to crank up my coaching gig at Moravian College.

September and October

Return to my home – the Lehigh Valley in eastern Pennsylvania.  Great place to visit (live) for a few months.  My Dad and his wife Judy, brother Steve, sister Pat and many, many friends are all there.

Get to eat some of the best pizza in the United States, real steak sandwiches, TastyKakes, Yoccos Hotdogs (Sorry Justin Potts), Birch beer, A-Treat soda (not pop), Wawa, and Carvel ice cream.  What more can you want?  I ask you?

Plus, get to work with the football team at Moravian College.  The Greyhounds have a fantastic staff – and the players ….. well, lucky to be around them.  Jeff Puksyzn and his staff do a great job always looking to help the athletes on the team first and foremost.

You couldn’t find a better person to lead a group of young men.  Always trying to help the troops.  Every coach at Moravian does a stellar job with their sports …. But Jeff – he deals with the most athletes and is constantly working with them to develop not only a good football team, but good students and great members of the Moravian community.

Well, the team….you could tell they were special guys.  With the great leadership of our seniors and the outstanding junior players we had we managed to work our way through the first half of the season 3-2. Then

winning two more in a row placed us at 5-2.

Unfortunately, we faced some of the best teams in the conference towards the end of the year and we dropped to 5-5.  I will say this…. For us to get to 5-5 is a great accomplishment.  Moravian cannot even compare to the teams we play in the Centennial Conference in regards to resources.

Now…we will always aspire to be excellent at what we do.  However, you learn early on in your coaching career to always be a pragmatic person.  Now, that does not mean we don’t strive to attain the highest level.  But although we are generally optimists – we also become realists!

Yup, I get it.  Too bad!  But, it is one of the things that Jeff faces as a football coach at Moravian.   We have to play the games regardless of the advantages the other Centennial Conference schools have.

Despite the fact that others may not see our situation in regards to the disparity in the CC –  In football you don’t have the luxury of seeing things through rose colored glasses.  We have to line up each week and play against those guys

Fortunately, the coaches truly work hard during the recruiting season and they are able to find some really good players.  They work hard to get students as well as athletes – all they can do is put them in front of admissions and financial aid and cross their fingers.

In the middle of the season I had to get back to Michigan – my son Scot (named after Scot Dapp by the way) got married to the fabulous Sarah.  What started out to be a cold rainy October day turned into a wonderful day.

Despite the fact that the sun hid all of the day.  It turned out to be perfect day for pictures and it was a great experience for everyone. Oh yeah, there was a few beers consumed by the way.  But, what a wonderful venue at the golf course in Lake Orion. (Plus the Hounds beat Susquehanna!)

Immediately after the wedding the boss (wife) and I climbed into a jet and flew to Switzerland for a two-week vacation-coaching experience.  What a great time for both of us!

Worked two camps while in Switzerland (Growth of the Game in Lucerne for two days and a camp in Willesau for the National teams of Switzerland).  Other than that – we traveled through the beautiful countryside in my adopted country!

I love Switzerland – the beauty of the place is truly amazing.  But, more importantly the people are just so friendly and happy to welcome people like me.  (By the way, the chocolate is unbelievable!)

Between and after the camps the boss (wife) and I visited several beautiful cities.  We started on Lugano (Italian side) visited Lucerne – twice- Zurich, Bern, Fribourg and Interlaken.  I can’t tell you how wonderful the visit was for me.

By the way there is a Hooters in Interlaken!

We headed back home – it is a long day.  But, as I said earlier – well worth the extra hours you spend going back and forth.

When I got back to Detroit climbed into my truck to get back to Bethlehem and Moravian to finish up the season.  Unfortunately we got caught up in the grinder as Franklin and Marshall beat us up. Then we gave up a game as Dickinson beat us.  (They are certainly an improving team … but we should have been able to win this game.)

Muhlenberg (like Hopkins) is a team that is going to be very difficult for us to defeat.  They have a very strong team.  Again, we are fighting a school with many advantages in regards to their policies and facilities.

There is a reason the Mules advanced three rounds in the national playoffs.  A good team.

But, finishing 5-5 really gave me a sense of accomplishment.  Jeff and the staff should be excited about our record and the players we have coming back.  Hopefully, we can add a freshman class that will  make our team even stronger.  If we can get everyone on campus aimed in the same direction we should continue to get better.

November and December

As we slipped into November we finished the season and I hung around the valley because I wanted to watch my beloved Konkrete Kids play on Thanksgiving Day.  Also on the plus side of staying around I got to have a great Turkey Day at Wendy and Steve’s (Brother and Sister and Law) house.

Have to also mention the stops at the Hungarian Hall.  Watching my pals throw darts then the over the top party on Thanksgiving Eve!  What a great time that always is!

Only problem is staying at my pal Tom Denardo’s house before the Thanksgiving game versus Catasaqua.  He doesn’t believe in heating his house.  Just doesn’t use his heat!   There are times when you can literally see your breath.  Well – if you go to bed with two sweatshirts, sweatpants, socks, a hat and two quilts it isn’t that bad.

After a Northampton win head up to Wendy and Steve’s house for the “feast”!

What an awesome spread Wendy puts out for us.  Turkey was unbelievable …. Also, everything else was great as well.  Went to bed stuffed.

Next morning – hopped in my truck and headed home to the boss (wife) in Michigan.  Just a nine and a half hour trip.

Set up the Christmas lights and here we are!

Son Corey and Taylor home from Atlanta…Scot and Sarah up from Centerline … the Fords visit … Sarah’s parents over.  Great Christmas day.

Like I said …  I took off for a weekend last month just to try and recall the whole year.  All of the faces and all of the places wonderin –  where they all disappeared.  I didn’t ponder the question too long.  I was hungry and went out for a bite.  Ran into a chum (Here’s where I change it)….he had a case of Coors Light hidden out of sight.  We went back to his place and set a good pace to drink all night…

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

 

 

 

After the camp in Willesau I hopped on the SBB train back to Lucerne for our last evening in Switzerland.  Once again – train right on schedule and arrive back to our hotel in Lucerne.

Again, we wander around the restaurant area along the river Reuss.   We decided to return to our favorite Italian restaurant on the broad cobblestone walkway along the river.

We were surprised that the area was not as busy as the previous Sunday we spent in Lucerne.  However, perhaps it is the weather.  It is  definitely cooling and we elected to eat inside rather than an the outdoor tables.  Again, we had another amazing meal.

(I have to say I still feel weird about the tipping situation in Switzerland.  I have been told not to leave anything because it is included in the overall price.  I feel there has to be some way to understand how this whole operation works.)

By the way $4.50 for a small bottle of coke is pretty steep – beer is generally the same price or less.  (I guess I picked the wrong football vacation to quit drinking beer.)

The boss (wife) and I wandered along
the river and she took me to the amazing work of art – The  Lion of Lucerne.  This is a monument carved to commemorate the Swiss Guards who were massacred in 1792 during the French Revolution.

It is a thoughtful work of art honoring the 600 brave Swiss soldiers who either  were killed defending the Royal Family of France – or in prison later.

The Lion was sculpted by Lukas Ahorn in 1820-21 and was described by Mark Twain as “the most mournful and moving piece of stone in the world.”

After viewing the “Lion” and knowing the story behind it – I can see how he was effected by the monument.  It truly is an emotional work.

We continued through Lucerne’s beautiful streets and got back to the hotel.  We packed up and prepared for our trip back to Lugano and then down into Milan.

By the way – yes we did stop again and get more chocolate.  Imagine that.  I think we may have increased Switzerland  GNP just through the amount of chocolate we purchased in our two week (ad)venture.

In the morning we got on the always reliable SBB train to Lucerne.  The beautiful scenery we had on the way to this end of the country was a little different on a way out.  With the sky overcast we didn’t get the views we had many days before.

After reaching Lugano we met our driver at the train station and he delivered us to a hotel in Milan, Italy.  From there we could prepare for the next morning.

That trip home is an “all day sucker” and is exhausting.  The length itself will get you – but when you factor in the time changes you are facing a long day!

But, the trips over and back are well worth it.  Having the chance to make more friends, see more sights and learn so much more about our world and the

various cultures that exist outside of our borders – well it’s worth a little bit of suffering!

The second luckiest man in the world is so grateful for the doors that the game of football has opened for him.  Can’t wait for the next (ad)venture to happen!

 

So, on Friday morning the boss (wife) and I get up early and return to Lucerne from Bern.  After getting to  Lucerne I would take a train to Willesau to get to the training camp for the Senior, Junior and Flag football teams of Switzerland.

The boss (wife) was to stay in Lucerne while I attended the weekend camp to establish the National Teams for Switzerland.  (I took all of her  credit cards and left her with 20 Swiss francs – well, maybe I left her with 50 francs)

The Direrctor of the National Team – Andy Keller retrieved me at the train station (SBB was on time as usual!) and we drove the few minutes to the sports center.

Willesau has  an amazing facility.  From what I understand there are several national training centers across Switzerland.  Willesau is certainly one of them.

 

***I was at Zuchwil with the Junior National Team two summers ago – I think it is another of the elite camps that Switzerland has established for their athletes.  We also had our Sound Mind Sound Body Europe Camp at Tenero – which in another amazing facility built for the top athletes in the country!***

 

Willisau Athletic Complex

To say the facility is all encompassing – well it is!  We
have all of the essentials.  Rooms for all the players and coaches…dining hall….meeting rooms….lockers… and several football fields!  You would be hard pressed to find anything like this in the States.

If we stayed longer we could have training rooms, weight lifting areas, running tracks etc.  (By the way the training complexes at Zuchwil and Tenero are built
with these amenities as well.). You have to give the sports administrators in Switzerland credit.  They have done great job of providing training sites for athletes in all sports.

The SAFV (Schweizerische American Football Verband or Swiss American Football Federation) did an outstanding job of setting up the whole operation.

Like any organization there are a lot of political issues.  But after spending a lot of time with the National Teams Director Andreas Keller and his chief assistant Anna Zinsli the group is trying to work through many issues to make the National teams stronger than they have ever  been.

I really found it very informative and interesting spending as much time as I did with Andy and Anna.  Both, obviously smart and aware of the landscape of the SAFV they patiently worked me through issues that are presented throughout the league and non particular the National Teams.

I really respect what Andy and Anna were able to accomplish.  I am sure it was a stressful time making sure that everything was operating on schedule and within the budget.  They did a great job and the SAFV should be thankful to have them in their positions.

Later I was able to spend time with Glenn Chase the president of the SAFV.   Over the past two years we have had several conversations by email.  But, he and I sat and talked for several hours.  Exchanging ideas on how to keep improving the National Teams.  (There is no doubt that he is fighting against some bad odds since the individual clubs are all operated in different ways.)

I really believe that everyone has their heart in the right place and it is imperative that we need to keep expanding the breadth of the SAFV and the education of administrators, coaches and players.

Being the optimist that I am – I really believe that we will see some firm progress as we continue on with this plan.  I think as we can keep things going in the right direction we will see a vast improvement in our competition with other European teams.

 

I was privileged to be invited by Andy and Glenn to watch the entire operation at the Swiss National camp.  It was truly an honor to be included in this group of coaches and administrators.

These are top flight young people  who have the best interests of the players in Switzerland in mind.  I saw some pretty good coaching and teaching going on at all three levels.  The Seniors (20+), Juniors (U 19) and Flag teams.

After being associated with the Junior National team a few years ago I was acquainted with all of the coaches for

that squad.  I did miss my good friend Giorgio Volpi who is really involved with a lot of things right now and could not be part of our camp.

But, upon his recommendation the defense was coordinated by Walti Tgetgel who is a fantastic coach.  The Junior HC remains Michel Spitznaegel who

continues to be a good friend.

I am not sure what the SAFV has in mind for me – but whatever role it is should be another awesome experience.  Another adventure is on the horizon I am sure.

 

I really didn’t know any of the Senior coaches – but they certainly were welcoming and also great to be around for the three day session.

They were well prepared and did a good job of drilling the team and preparing them for future efforts.  I enjoyed being able to

watch each coach work with his group of

players.

We had some interesting conversations and I went away after the camp wishing that I had more time to visit with all of the coaches.  They are all knowledgeable and interested in the game of football.  I learned a great deal about how the game is  played overseas and Switzerland in particular.

 

After working with the Junior National team in the European

championships two years ago I was able to reunite with several of the players who were at the camp.  I have to say we had a tight knit group who were a lot of fun to be around.

They represented their country well when we played in the Netherlands against Germany and the Dutch Lions.  All of them are Seniors now and it was fun reminiscing with them.

I was impressed with the level of talent that was assembled for the camp.  Obviously the coaches did a very good job of selecting the players who will represent their country.

Watching the flag football team practice was very interesting as I have not really been involved with flag football before.  (I watched my sons play for several years when they were both young – but never really watched a practice.)

I was very impressed with the athleticism of the flag football players.  I hope I will get to watch them play at some point.

There has been some talk of having football in the Olympic Games at some point.  No one has addressed what the game will look like – flag, arena like, seven man or eleven man.

Right now it seems like the best bet might be utilizing flag football.  With the pressure due to injuries and the concussion issue it might make more sense pursuing the flag football platform.

Following the three day sessions it was time for me to get back on the road to Lucerne and then head to the airport in Milan, Italy.

                              

 

 

 

 

Our next stop on the our run through Switzerland was the well kept city of Fribourg.  Many things I have  read about this pretty city describes it as “medieval”….although I had a fairly good idea what the word means but I looked it up anyway.

“Medieval” is a word that means archaic, antique, very old, antediluvian (wow -that’s a word), outmoded.  OK, it means that the city is very old.  But, this very old city is just a beautiful stop that you have to see when visiting Switzerland.

Well, I guess if the city originated in 1157 it is old, archaic, antique – “medieval”.   But it does not take away from the sense of history and the beauty of Fribourg.

This was my second visit to the city.  Two years ago I watched the Fribourg Cardinals (believe it or not their colors are BLUE and white!!??) American Football Team practice.

My friend Chris Krattiger (former General Manager of the National Teams of Switzerland) and his wonderful family brought me to Fribourg to spend a fantastic day touring, eating and then watching a very well run football practice of the Fribourg Cardinals.

I spent a few hours with the coach and president of the Cardinals – Franck Meatchi.  He explained the nature of his team and the city of Fribourg and their embracing of American football.

We also spent some time with a local reporter who put together an excellent article about the entire operation and my visit.  (Unfortunately it was in French – and I don’t know what it said!)

I was tremendously impressed with how Franck ran the practice.  It was extremely well organized and the players knew what to do – actually coaching each other at different times.  I loved it!

After this fantastic experience two years ago I knew that the boss (wife) would be happy to visit Fribourg.  Later I knew she enjoyed this stop on our criss – crossing of Switzerland.

Again we boarded the ever punctual Schweizerisch Bundesbahnen (SBB) train system.  Another on-time boarding – a fast 32 minute ride from Bern (which we made a home base for three days) to Fribourg.  Yes we arrived exactly on time!

As we rode up to the city I could see several areas that I recognized from my visit years before.  They can call this city old, medieval or whatever….it is just spectacular.

We wandered around for awhile and had an early lunch (well I had an awesome ice-cream sundae and my wife ate a really nice minestrone soup. )  Our waiter was really a great young man.

Obviously it was apparent we were from the states and this young guy spent a great deal of time with us.  He was going to visit New York City for an extended period later in the fall.  We exchanged points of view and learned a little more about Switzerland and Fribourg in particular – I’d like to think we gave him a few positive impressions of the US.

This western Swiss city borders the German and French sections of the country.  Fribourg was built along a major waterway – the Sarine River – a long time ago….1157.  Obviously the original population was a lot less than the 38,000 or so who live here now.

 

Cathedral of St. Nicholas

One of the most beautiful and well kept churches in Switzerland – the Cathedral of St. Nicholas is located in Fribourg.  The church was started In 1283 (!!!) and completed in 1430 (Think about Columbus sailing to the Americas in relationship to when this Cathedral was finished!).

The Cathedral of St. Nicholas is built in the middle of the “Old City” and is truly astounding to behold.  The stain glass windows are really unbelievable.

 

Warning!

Wondering through the “Old City” requires some leg strength.  It is a pretty steep climb.  But as I learned a few years ago with the Krattiger family – well worth the exercise.

With one more stop on our schedule – Interlaken – we went back to the train station to return to Bern and grab some dinner.

 

Next the boss (wife) and I boarded a train to the capitol city of Switzerland – Bern.  Another beautiful place to visit in my second homeland.  Home of the “Barengraben” and “BarenPark” (Bear Pit) located along the river in “Old Town”.

The Aare river sort of loops around the city – and Bern is  on a sort of peninsula with “Old Town” located along the banks  of the river at the tip of that land area.

The Bear is represented on the city of Bern’s coat of arms and is the  symbol for the entire canton of Bern.  Therefore visiting this site of the Bear Park is of particular interest to tourists.

Since it was already October – in an unseasonably warm fall – it was nice to be able to see the bears wandering around their compound.  Normally, they would either be in hibernation or not as visible as they were during our visit.

The stroll to “Old Town” is another fantastic view as you wander down from the heights of the newer section of the capitol city.  With shops and flowers everywhere this is a very worthwhile trek.  I have to warn you the walk back up will wear you out.

Bern is the home of the Parliament and serves as the lead city in Switzerland.   Tracing its origins back to the 12th and 13th centuries the city itself is the fifth largest in the country with a population of about 142,000 people (For perspective – Allentown, Pennsylvania is a little less than 120,000).

It is a mostly German speaking region – but for those of us English speaking only visitors – most everyone is going to speak English.  It still amazes me the command of various languages that many people in Switzerland have.

Several of my friends speak three and four languages and  slip between them to allow a person like me to follow the conversations that are going on around me.

Every time I think that we have found the perfect spot in Switzerland you step into another beautiful view of this very picturesque land.  I guess I am beginning to realize that you cannot go wrong – the entire region is just a slideshow of incredible sights.

It still amazes me a simple invitation by the Swiss national team thru my friends Giorgio Volpi and Christian Krattiger kicked off this amazing journey for me.

I always knew that football was a major part of my life – but it has literally led me around  the world.

Next we will hit another great city – the town of Friborg!

Following our visit to Lucerne and the conclusion of the “Growth of a Game” football camp the boss (wife) and I decided to go to Zurich to spend a day.  I had visited the city briefly during my first visit to Switzerland two years ago and was looking forward to actually spending some time there.

We hopped on one of. the ever efficient Schweizerisch Bundesbahnen (SBB) trains in Lucerne and got into Zurich after about an  hour ride.  (The boss [wife] and I got smart in Lucerne and purchased half price travel passes for the remainder of our travels – and it really paid off!)

Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and is located in the German speaking canton of Zurich in the north central part of the country.  It is a city with around 400,000 people – but more than a million in the surrounding areas.

Obviously Switzerland and in particular Zurich is known for it’s ties to banking and finances.  I was hoping to arrange for a numbered Swiss bank account – but for some reason I look to suspicious for them!  I was thinking – James Bond.  Even my banker friend Fulgenzio (what a great Swiss Italian name) could not promise me a pathway to a numbered account.  what to do with all that cash??

Many travel journals rank Zurich as one of the best places to live in the world because of it’s international appeal.  With many overseas companies based there due to the low tax rates it truly has an international flare to the culture.

There is no doubt that it is a vibrant and attractive place to visit.

After getting off the train we found out our hotel was right down the street.   – oops our GPS got us lost again had us wandering all over the place.  45 minutes we lucked out and found the hotel.

Seriously it literally was 5 minutes from the train station.  But, we were lead the wrong way by my phone…. the boss (wife) her phone simply stopped working.

How in the world does this happen?

Our first task upon getting into our room was to find a place to eat.  Wow – fantastic restaurant with amazing Italian foot right down the street.  The pasta in Switzerland is simply fantastic  (I can’t wait to visit Italy in the next year or so to find out what the food is like there).  Italy is on our list for the next trip – just have to find a football team there to visit with.

We jumped on a boat and traveled down the river and into Lake Zurich to see the sights.  A truly amazing place to visit.  Oh – to this point I probably haven’t mentioned the chocolate.  One word – “Unbelievable!”  You can say the same about the soft pretzels.

One amazing point to bring up is the bus system and trams that run throughout this exciting city.  We watched how everything worked…but were afraid to jump on either.  The boss (wife) is much more adventurous, but my fear was that we would end up lost and trapped forever as homeless people in a different country (Switzerland not so bad a place to be stranded!)

After the relative calm of Lucerne the hustle and bustle of Zurich was apparent.  Obviously being the largest city in Switzerland it has a different feel to it.  Well worth the day we spent there.  By the way a great place to shop for those interested in that form of fun.

Personally I like the restaurants and bars!  Imagine that.

We decided that our next stop on our trip would be the city of Bern.  We would get moving the next morning to visit the capital of Switzerland.

We enter into the final week of the 2018 season knowing  that we have been successful beyond many peoples’ ideas.  Few envisioned the Hounds standing where we do right now.

Much of that is do to your make up – your “Lagniappe”

You are all an amazing group of people – from the coaches, trainers, Special Forces, touchdown makers, defenders, equipment men, blockers, parents, friends, guardians, brothers and sisters.  You have worked to be excellent  on a daily basis.

In other words everyone of you have been giving “Lagniappe” at all times.  Always giving that little extra, the needed pat on the back, the word or encouragement – yes you are the fabric of the Greyhound TEAM.

I salute all of you and thank you for making this 2018 season such a fantastic experience.

******

This is a look at Muhlenberg for our final game of the season…but, more importantly a thought about our fantastic Seniors as they approach the last game they will play in as a Hound.

A salute to the Seniors and a big thank you for who you are.  TO THE SENIORS!

Muhlenberg is a fine football team that is loaded with good players at most positions.  But, the Hounds also have very good players – we are a team that is continuing to improve.

Our seniors have seen to that thru their leadership and ability to set examples of greatness each day!

I have watched our team and the individuals on it literally get better each day – on and off the field.  One of the most gratifying aspects of coaching is seeing the techniques, ideas and lessons that you present transform into action on the field.

Our seniors epitomize that….paving the way for younger members of our team to improve through their guidance and thru the standards that they set.

There is nothing like seeing a team work together day in and day out to achieve a common goal.  There are times you don’t achieve that objective – but that is the “real” world.

It doesn’t always go the way we want it to – the ending isn’t always what we planned.  But, it is the resilience we develop and the persistence that we have that makes for great teams.

What I have seen with the 2018 Hounds to this point is just that.  A commitment to “on going skill development,”  the chase of excellence and the bond of a brotherhood.

Again, here I give credit to our senior class.  Those guys are truly amazing young men.  They have all performed to their capabilities – all given much more than just attending practice to work.  They all came to become better and to contribute to the strength and success of the team.

I salute each of them and know that among them there will be great leaders and pioneers in whatever they decide to do after they leave school.  Their teammates are all better young men because of the seniors on the team.  I am a better person because of them!

HERE IS TO THIS FANTASTIC GROUP OF SENIORS…..THANKS FOR EVERYTHING YOU ARE!

Here is a quick look at Muhlenberg:

MUHLENBERG COLLEGE

2018 RECORD AND SEASON : 8-1

Muhlenberg 14 – Dickinson 3

1. Big defensive effort limiting Dickinson to 148 total yards with just 39 rushing.Following a first quarter FG Dickinson never threatened again.
2. Frankie Feaster (6) had two sacks and Jack Fitzsimmons (40), Mickey Kober (41) and Kwasi Ampomah (8) all had standout games for the Mules.
3. Nick Sirico (27) had a big third down interception in the fourth quarter.
4. Offensively sophomore QB Michael Hnatkowski (18) threw for 199 yards on 15 of 32 passes and James Diggs (20) ran for 82 yards.

Muhlenberg 37 – Susquehanna 34 (Overtime)

1. Todd Spirt kicked a 37 yard FG lifting Muhlenberg to 2-0.
2. Muhlenberg opened up a 34-13 lead into the third quarter but Susquehanna reeled off 21 straight points to force overtime.
3. James Diggs (20) rushed for 82 yards for the second straight week and he scored a pair of TD’s.
4. Sophomore Nick Sirico (27) had an interception for the second straight week.
5. Max Kirin (89) caught six passes for 116 yards as did Nick Ugarte (86).

Muhlenberg 62 – Juniata 7

1. Muhlenberg moved to 3-0 with a high scoring game on Homecoming. The Mule offense was clicking on all cylinders as they gained over 500 yards in total offense.
2. Michael Hnatkowski (18) threw four TD passes by completing 23 of 27 passes for 278 yards in basically one half of the game.
3. The stout Muhlenberg defense held Juniata to just 127 yards (only 29 yards rushing).
4. James Dixon (20) again paced the Mule rushers gaining 79 yards and one TD. Both Nick Ugarte (86) and Max Kirin (89) caught two TD passes.
5. Jack Lavache (52) had a pair of sacks and Muhlenberg also had three interceptions – Mikey Kober (41), Kwasi Ampomah (8) and Owen Daddona (14) each had one.Daddona’s (14) for a TD.

Muhlenberg 42 – Franklin and Marshall 21

1. Muhlenberg never trailed in the game…..jumping to a 21-7 lead at the half and then expanding that to a 42-14 lead over #24 ranked Franklin and Marshall by the end of the third quarter.
2. The Mules overpowered F&M behind the running of James Diggs (20) – 110 yards rushing and the arm of Michael Hnatkowski (18) – 271 yards passing.
3. Frankie Feaster (6) recorded two sacks on the first three plays of the game and the Mules had four interceptions along the way as they shut off the Franklin and Marshall offense.
4. It was the second straight week that Hnatkowski (18) threw for four TD’s.

Muhlenberg 34 – Ursinus 14

1. Undefeated (5-0) Muhlenberg defended their #24 ranking with a big win on the road at Ursinus.
2. Muhlenberg rolled up more than 600 yards in offense with James Diggs (20) rushing for 163 yards and Mark Riggio (38) adding 155 yards as well. Michael Hnatkowski (18) threw three TD passes and was 19-31 for 244 yards.
3. Muhlenberg again was overpowering on defense. The Ursinus running game – which entered the contest averaging almost 200 yards per game – was held to just 21 yards on 26 attempts.
4. Frankie Feaster (6) had another productive game for the Mule defense recording 2 ½ sacks.
5. Max Kirin (89) had four catches for 69 yards and a pair of TD’s for the Mules.

Muhlenberg 34 – Thomas More 31

1. Todd Spirt (98) kicked a 20 yard FG as the clock expired to lead Muhlenberg to the hin over host Thomas More.
2. On a big offensive day (850 yards of combined offene) Michael Hnatkowsky (18) passed for 386 yards and a pair of TD’s.
3. Ryan Curtiss (11) had eight catches on the afternoon for150 yards and one score.
4. Although the generally very strong Muhlenberg defense allowed 125 yards rushing they were able to curtail Hjavier Pitts – allowing just 70 yards to one of the top rushers in Division III.

Muhlenberg 42 – McDaniel 18

1. 20^thranked Muhlenberg ran their winning streak to 7-0 with a win over visiting McDaniel 42-18.
2. Defensively the Mules intercepted three passes – Freshman John Washington (23) picked one off for a 39 yard TD – Junior Joseph O’Hagan (3) and Nick Sirico (27) added one each.
3. The Muhlenberg offense continued to operate on all cylinders as Michael Hnatkowsky (18) passed for three more TD’s and had 250 yards thru the air.
4. The Centennial Conference leading rusher sophomore James Diggs (20) ran for 68 yards and his backup Mark Riggio (38) scored a pair of TD’s. 

Johns Hopkins 27 – Muhlenberg 16

1. Johns Hopkins knocked off previously undefeated visiting Muhlenberg 27-16.
2. The Muhlenberg (7-1) defense slowed the Blue Jay offense down, but could not completely shut off one of the top teams in the country.
3. Junior Frankie Feaster (6) had a very productive day from his defensive end position. He had three sacks and had two other plays that were TFL as well.
4. The Michael Hnatkowsky (18) to Max Kerin (89) connection was operating at full tilt with Kerin catching 12 passes for 132 yards. (Hnatkowski passed for 287 yards).
5. Hopkins (7-1) limited the CC’s top runner James Diggs (20) to just 33 yards on ten carries. 

Muhlenberg 49 – Gettysburg 0

1. The Mules got back on track with a big win over visiting Gettysburg College.
2. Following last week’s loss to Johns Hopkins Muhlenberg (8-1) rode the arm of Michael Hnatkowski (18) once again. The sophomore threw four more TD passes bringing his total to 23 with just six interceptions on the year.
3. Frankie Feaster (6) continues to be a dominating player for the Mules defense as he had 1 ½ sacks and also intercepted a pass. Senior Nate Corvil (5) returned an interception for 26 yards.

 

2017 RECORD: 8-3

COACH:  Nate Milne (Hobart ‘03), 1st season

OFFENSE: (6 Returning Starters)

Quarterbacks: 

Michael Hnatkowski, Soph. 6-1, 204             2091 PASSING YDS 20TD, 61.3%

Receivers:

Josiah Lawrence-Wright, Sr. 5-7, 154            34 REC – 575 YDS 5 TD

Max Kirin, Jr.  5-10, 185                                  47 REC – 504 YDS  7 TD

Ryan Curtis (TE), Jr. 6-1, 236                          39 REC – 509 YDS 6 TD.  ALL CC

Runners:

NONE

Offensive Line:

LT – Kyle Oprisko, Sr. 6-2, 266                        22 Career starts, All CC

RT – Ryan Malarkey, Jr. 6-1, 293

DEFENSE: (6 Returning Starters)

Defensive Line

NT – Frank Cresta, Jr. 6-2,2 49

Linebackers

OLB – Kwasi Ampomah, Jr. 6-0, 293             8.5 Sacks, 10 TFK, 1^stteam All CC

ILB –  Mickey Kober, Jr.  6-1, 210                    2 INT, 3.5 TFL

Secondary

CB – Nate Corvil,Sr. 5-11, 170                                    6 INT, 6 PBU, 1^stteam ALL CC

CB – Michael Blank, 6-0, 198                        2 INT, 5 PBU

S – Luke Wiley, 6-0, 190

Special Teams (2)

P – Joseph O’Hagan, 5-9, 195                         47 P – 35.8 AVG. 20 – Inside 20, HM All CC

PK – Todd Spirt, Jr. 4 FG, 25 XP

The Mules are a very good football team and a worthy opponent to close out our 2018 season.

Let’s have a little “Lagniappe” this Saturday!